Plans to demolish former Argos building withdrawn

Sunderland City Council recently submitted an application for the demolition

Plans to knock down a building on a high street to "make way for future development" have been put on hold by a city council.

The building on Sunderland's High Street West once housed Argos and Mothercare, before the council bought it.

The council had said that demolishing the building would be a "catalyst for further investment and regeneration of the area".

Sunderland City Council has not responded to requests for comment as to why it withdrew its application.

The local authority bought the building earlier this year as part of its plans to connect the city centre to the former Vaux Brewery site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council's recent demolition application for the site described 68 – 71 High Street West as "redundant buildings" and confirmed demolition would "make way for future development of the site".

However, days after the application was received and validated by the council’s planning department, it was withdrawn by the applicant.

Planning documents had shown that work was meant to begin in August and to run until late October.