Plans for student accommodation above a restaurant site in Sunderland city centre have been refused by council development chiefs over noise fears.
Sunderland City Council’s planning department has blocked an application for 15 Waterloo Place, which sits on the corner with Blandford Street and near the city’s central rail station.
The corner retail unit was formerly occupied by the Herbert Brown jewellery shop and in recent years, several attempts have been made to convert the building’s upper floors into residential accommodation.
This included an initial bid for apartments which was blocked by the city council’s planning department after being labelled “sub-standard“, and a separate bid for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) which was also refused by the council, then dismissed at appeal by a government-appointed planning inspector.
More recently, the building has been given a facelift and re-opened at ground floor level as dedicated Vietnamese restaurant Pho 179.
New plans, submitted last summer (2024), aimed to change the use of the building’s first and second floors to five studio apartments and one self-contained apartment, along with a separate laundry room.
A design and access statement submitted to council officials last year said the scheme aimed to provide a residential use “suitable for student accommodation” and noted the development would house six people.
Those behind the scheme said that “each unit would have its own cooking facilities and shower room” and space for a double bed, along with a study area.
The design and access statement noted the “upper floors are vacant” and that a “number of surrounding buildings have had the upper floors converted to residential mainly to meet demand from the student market.”
Following an initial council consultation exercise on the plans, there were six objections including from Harrison and Brown Furniture Ltd, the Music Venue Trust and more, with a range of issues raised.
This included increased litter and bin storage management and concerns about noise impacts from the nearby music venue Independent, with fears that the “grassroots music venue would face an increased risk of noise complaints which would impact upon its ongoing viability.”
During the planning process, the planning application was amended to “remove one studio to provide communal space to the rear first floor”, with four studio apartments and one self-contained apartment proposed instead.
This followed concerns from the council’s environmental health team “with regard to noise impact on the occupiers” and the amended scheme aimed to “relocate bedrooms away from the rear of the property”.
Following the submission of “acoustic notes” and amended plans a council re-consultation was carried out and a further objection was received from the Music Venue Trust.
The objection said that “it cannot be said with confidence that necessary protections are at all robust in order to mitigate the noise created by the venue’s important cultural work and any future residents of the planned development.”
After considering the amended scheme, Sunderland City Council’s planning department refused it on 27 October, 2025.
Council planners, in a decision report, cited three main reasons for refusal covering noise impacts, the amenity of future occupiers of the student accommodation and concerns about a proposed extraction system.
The first reason for refusal said “given the position of the proposed residential accommodation in close proximity to the music venue (Independent), which operates until 4:00am, the ‘agent of change’ principle is relevant here, as in allowing residential use at the application site could result in demands to restrict the activities of the surrounding businesses”.
The agent of change principle, set out in national planning rules, states that “where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development (including changes of use) in its vicinity, the applicant (or ‘agent of change’) should be required to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed”, planning documents said.
In the case of 15 Waterloo Place however, it was noted that “suitable mitigation has not been provided in this instance”.
A second reason for refusal included the proposed student accommodation “not providing occupiers with an acceptable standard of amenity, given the proximity to a late-night music venue and the late night noise associated with this, as well as the daytime noise associated with the extended extraction system”.
The third reason for refusal included the planning submission failing to “demonstrate that the proposed extended extraction system would not give rise to unacceptable levels of odour, in relation to prospective occupiers”.
Council planners said “it cannot, therefore, be concluded that the development would not give rise to harm to the amenity of prospective occupiers.”
Although council planners said it was “appreciated that the applicant has tried to work with the council to provide a solution to the noise and odour issues that have been raised, unfortunately the provision of residential accommodation at this site is considered to be unacceptable, with regard to the amenity afforded to potential occupiers and the potential for the use to impact existing businesses.”
The previously submitted design and access statement said the applicant had initially “looked to provide a first floor karaoke space with residential apartments to the second floor”.
However, it was noted that this was “reviewed to provide full residential to the upper floors as more in keeping with the surrounding properties and to avoid any potential noise issues to surrounding residents”.
The design and access statement added that “while self-contained apartments have been considered it is felt there is better demand for student accommodation within this area of the city centre.”
The applicant has the right to challenge the council’s refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.
For more information on the plan and council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 24/01372/FUL
