3 Holystone Close, HOUGHTON LE SPRING, Sunderland, DH4 5LE

change of use from a single residential unit (currently Use Class C3 dwellinghouse) to also allow for use as care / supported living accommodation for up to two people (Use Class C2 - for under 18s) - with no physical or external alterations

Authority: Sunderland City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: community-institutional · Change of use
Inspector: Teasdale N

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the amenity and character of the area
The effect of the proposed development on highway safety

What decided it

The unacceptable harm to amenity and character of the area demonstrated by police data showing 25 calls for service in 6 months and 100% of street crime attributed to the property, combined with inadequate parking provision creating highway safety issues.

Plan policies cited: Policy EN10 of the City of Sunderland Unitary Development Plan, 1998, Policy BH1 of the Sunderland City Council Core Strategy and Development Plan 2015-2033, 2020, Policy HS1 of the Sunderland City Council Core Strategy and Development Plan 2015-2033, 2020, Policy VC5 of the Sunderland City Council Core Strategy and Development Plan 2015-2033, 2020, Policy ST2 of the Sunderland City Council Core Strategy and Development Plan 2015-2033, 2020, Policy ST3 of the Sunderland City Council Core Strategy and Development Plan 2015-2033, 2020

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.