Former church to be turned into flats

The church has links to Sunderland benefactor Sir John Priestman

Plans to turn a former church building into flats have been approved despite objections.

The application for Bethesda Church, in Sunderland's Bright Street, includes three two-bedroomed apartments, one on each floor of the building.

The proposals received 22 objections, with parking, a rise in anti-social behaviour and impact on local property values among the concerns.

However, the council’s transportation team and Northumbria Police raised no objections to the plans.

The building, in the St Peter's ward, is also known as Hallgarth Mission and has a long history of serving the community, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

One objector said the church "should be left as a meeting place for local residents", while another said "the mission hall should be converted to enhance the community in this area, not drive our property prices down".

Sam Johnston, a former councillor for the St Peter’s ward, also said the plans would have a "negative impact" on the character of the area.

Mr Johnston’s consultation statement said the change of use would be "inappropriate from a heritage perspective", due to the loss of a long-standing community facility, and that the development would "worsen" existing parking issues.

Northumbria Police, which was also consulted on the plans, did not object but said the development could add up to six vehicles in the area, which could cause "tension".

However, a consultation statement from the council said the traffic expected to be generated by the flats would be "less than the site’s existing use".