Sunderland jewellery store flat plan rejected

The former Herbert Brown store has been empty for two years

Plans to convert a former jewellery store building into flats have been rejected.

Sunderland City Council said the proposed six-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) for up to 12 people on Waterloo Place was "sub-standard".

It is the second conversion plan for the former Herbert Brown shop, which has been vacant for two years, to be refused planning permission by the council.

Eight people had objected to the plan, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Each bedroom would have had an en-suite room with toilet and shower facilities while there would have been a communal kitchen area.

Reasons for objection had included an “overconcentration” of HMOs in the city centre, increased anti-social behaviour impacting on businesses and noise and disturbance.

Nearby Norfolk Street Studios said the plans, if approved, would “undermine” investment being made into the Sunniside area and “make a mockery of all Sunderland is striving to achieve as a city”.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department refused it on several grounds including “inadequate provision” for refuse storage and the “sub-standard level of accommodation and amenity” for potential occupiers.