®Planning appeal decision
2 Crowther Road, Crowther, Washington, NE38 0AA
Planning appeal 6010644 at 2 Crowther Road, Crowther, Washington, NE38 0AA (Sunderland) was allowed on 10 September 2026 by Inspector L Clark, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the development would accord with the development plan in respect of the safeguarding of employment land.
Change of use from planning use class B8 (storage) to class E(d) indoor sports facility (padel courts) with associated alterations to the door and window arrangements
- Authority
- Sunderland
- Appeal type
- Planning
- Procedure
- Written
- Development
- leisure-sport
- Inspector
- L Clark
- Postcode
- NE38 0AA
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the development would accord with the development plan in respect of the safeguarding of employment land
What decided it
The building's demonstrated unsuitability for independent employment use, combined with the economic and leisure benefits of the proposed padel court, outweighed the conflict with Policy EG2 arising from the insufficient marketing period.
The conflict with the development plan arising from the limited marketing period was significantly outweighed by the building's demonstrated lack of suitability for employment use, the economic benefits of approximately 10-12 full-time equivalent jobs, and the leisure use's capacity to support health, wellbeing and community benefits.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy EG2 of the Core Strategy and Development Plan 2015-2033Policy ST3 of the Core Strategy
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.