Bid fails to grant M&S building listed status

The branch in Sunderland city centre closed at the end of May

A bid to get a former Marks & Spencer (M&S) building listed has failed.

Historic England confirmed the application for the Sunderland site would not be taken forward, as it did not meet the "necessary criteria".

The listed status bid was made after the chain announced in January the branch in High Street West would be closed after several decades.

Sunderland Conservatives, who made the application, said they were disappointed with the outcome, but "determined to protect the history of the building".

Historic England said it did not take the application forward because "it did not meet the necessary criteria for listing in a national context".

Labour-run Sunderland City Council, which owns the former M&S site, is proposing to flatten part or all of the building to make way for new offices and retail space.

Sunderland Conservatives said: "Whilst disappointed that our application to get the Marks & Spencer building listed didn't go through this time, the Sunderland Conservatives are still determined to protect the history of the building and crucially the beauty it brings to our struggling city centre."

The group added it hoped to work with the council leader to find a solution "and not just plough ahead with demolition".

The council has been approached for comment.

The city centre store closed on 25 May, with a new 47,000 sq ft (4,366 sq m) branch opening at Washington Galleries.

Sunderland residents had called the closure a "blow" to the city.

Conservative councillor Lyall Reed previously said listing the building would protect it from "inconsiderate changes to its Art Deco architecture".

He feared it would become "just another Joplings" - a former department store in the city centre once dubbed the "Harrods of the North" but now branded an "eyesore".