Fresh plans submitted for Sunderland bungalow with 'green roof' on vacant Roker site

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received a new planning application for a site near the Harbour View pub in the St Peter’s ward.

The triangular piece of land sits to the rear of properties on Benedict Road and St Andrew’s Terrace and can be accessed from the rear lane of Bede Street.

Several bids for housing on the site have previously been refused by the city council, including an application for a detached bungalow with dormer windows which was refused in April, 2022.

While noting the proposal was acceptable in principle, subject to suitable conditions, council planners said several matters made the bungalow plan “unacceptable”.

This included the “overshadowing of and a loss of outlook from the neighbouring properties” and the absence of an updated ecology report to assess the “full ecological impact of the development”.

Fresh plans for the site, submitted to the council this year, have proposed a single-storey dwelling with an amended design.

This includes a “single-storey residential dwellinghouse” complete with a “green flat roof” allowing vegetation to grow and new boundary treatments, car parking and access.

Submitted floor plans show the bungalow offering two bedrooms, two bathroom / washroom facilities and a living, kitchen and dining area.

Plans also show the entrance to the plot being taken from the rear lane of Bede Street, with the parking area including ‘permeable paving’.

A highway statement, submitted to council officials on behalf of the applicant, states the rear lane is “very lightly trafficked by motor vehicles and by pedestrians”.

The statement noted there was “no reason to believe” that additional traffic movements from the development would “affect the accident record on Back Bede Street or on other highways in the area”.

In addition an ecological impact assessment from the applicant set out measures to boost biodiversity on the site, including a “single integrated bat box”.

The ecology statement added:” The landscape planting will be designed to enhance structural diversity, and will include plants bearing flowers, nectar and fruits which are attractive to invertebrates, thereby helping to maintain the food resource for bats and wildlife generally”.

A decision on the planning application will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Information on Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website suggests a decision is expected by October 9, 2023.

For more information on the plans, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01421/FUL