Rejected student flats plans to be reviewed
GooglePlans for student accommodation in a city centre are to be decided by a government-appointed planning inspector, after previously being blocked by a council.
Sunderland City Council refused plans to refurbish the three-storey building at 15 Waterloo Place, near the city's rail station, into six apartments after concerns were raised by local businesses.
The plans received six objections, which focused on bin storage issues and the potential for a local music venue to receive noise complaints from tenants.
The council rejected the plan but the applicant has decided to contest the decision and has submitted an appeal to the national Planning Inspectorate.
The applicant has argued the building sits within the city centre, where planning policies "encourage the reuse of upper floors for residential and student accommodation", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
During the planning process, one of the studio apartments was removed from the scheme after the council's environment team suggested rooms at the back of the building could be impacted by noise.
But despite the amendments, the council rejected the plans and said the proposal had not provided its future tenants with an "acceptable standard of amenity", in regards to its close distance to the music venue and noise from an extraction system.
In its appeal statement, the applicant said the accommodation had been "specifically designed to respond to its surroundings" and included measures to manage "noise and odour".
"The proposal is capable of delivering acceptable living conditions without giving rise to undue conflict with neighbouring activities," it said.
A planning inspector will be appointed by the secretary of state, who could uphold or overturn the council's decision.
