Thumbs down for monument site cafe plan
LDRSControversial plans for a cafe at the foot of a historic landmark have been turned down by council planners.
Green Property Developments Ltd wanted to open a pizza cafe at the bottom of Penshaw Hill, near Sunderland, but proposals were withdrawn in 2024 after opposition, including from the National Trust which owns the Grade I listed site.
A revised application removing all references to "pizza" was later resubmitted and a decision then deferred in July.
Sunderland City Council's planning and highways committee voted to block the plans due to concerns about highway safety and the impacts on the green belt.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the revised plans for the site, off the A183 Chester Road, was for a building "designed to be low profile and unobtrusive to sit at the base of Penshaw Hill".
Developers maintained it would lead to about 20 jobs, and would "neither increase nor decrease the number of visitors" to the monument, which is located on top of the hill.
However, a fresh round of public consultation raised concerns about loss of heritage, access issues, increased noise and traffic generation.
The National Trust also objected again, stating it constituted "inappropriate development in the green belt", as well as raising concerns about the impact on the monument's setting and "the potential for unacceptable ecological, landscape and traffic impacts".
Council planning officers had recommended refusal and a decision was due last June, but this was deferred to allow the Labour-led council to "continue to work proactively" with the applicant.
At the latest planning meeting, developers submitted revised ecological details regarding "biodiversity net gain" and stated there was a "more than sufficient" level of parking provision "based on the council's formula".
However, planning officers maintained it would still represent "inappropriate development in the green belt", and the vote to reject the plan was unanimous.
The applicant has the right to challenge the refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.
