Sunderland City Council approves redevelopment of long-vacant Deptford Terrace site

Major plans to revitalise a derelict former glassworks site have been given the go-ahead by city councillors. Sunderland City Council's Planning and Highways Committee approved an application for land at Deptford Terrace near the Queen Alexandra Bridge in the Millfield ward during a meeting this week.

The ambitious multi-million pound vision from Jomast Developments Ltd, submitted back in 2022, aims to create hundreds of jobs on a site that has been vacant for over a decade. The proposed plans include six industrial and warehousing units suitable for general industrial use or storage and distribution, as well as seven trade warehouses with ancillary trade counters or light industrial units.

A drive-thru coffee shop is also in the works, along with an electric vehicle (EV) charging hub featuring a retail kiosk and associated access, parking, servicing and landscaping works. The EV charging station would provide 26 spaces, including 10 ultra-rapid EV chargers, and around 351 parking spaces, including accessible spaces, would be available across the site.

Original plans submitted in 2022 mentioned a large food store, other food and drink facilities and a petrol filling station, but these elements were removed by the applicant during the planning application process. A council report stated that this decision was made following discussions with council officers about the "acceptability of the proportion of the proposed development including non-employment uses".

The proposed development, which includes a hot food takeaway drive-thru facility, falls under "acceptability of the proportion of the proposed development including non-employment uses" according to planning policies. The final scheme, as per the planning documents, allocates 95% of the floorspace for 'employment uses' and the remaining 5% for 'non-employment uses'.

The plans received unanimous support from the Planning and Highways Committee members during a crucial meeting held on Monday (November 25). Council planning officers, who had recommended the scheme for approval, stated that it would not have any "no unacceptable impacts on the vitality and viability of, and investment in, nearby town, district and local centres", subject to certain conditions related to the proposed retail kiosk and coffee shop drive-thru.

One such condition was to ensure that the employment development is practically complete and available for use before any development associated with the drive-thru coffee shop begins. Additional conditions were recommended to ensure that the proposed units could not change to other non-employment uses and to control the proportion of each unit that can be used as a trade counter.

Several councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee expressed their support for the regeneration scheme at Monday’s planning meeting. Councillor Andrew Wood said: "As a councillor for Millfield I’m very much looking forward to this development working, as others have not." Councillor Martyn Herron commented on the development's potential, saying: "I note the proximity of this development to the Crown Works [film studio] site and I do wonder if the coffee shop might become the place to be to spot celebrities in the future."

A previous outline planning application for a range of uses on the site, including offices, homes, leisure and retail uses, was approved by councillors in October 2013. However, a section 106 agreement between developers and the council was not subsequently signed, meaning planning permission was not formally granted.

A planning statement submitted with new plans for the site said "previous historic planning applications have failed to deliver economic development" but that the land now "benefits from excellent connectivity" due to the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor.

At Monday’s planning meeting, a planning consultant speaking on behalf of the applicant said the scheme would secure inward investment into Sunderland and revive a "substantial" area of disused brownfield land, while also delivering around 325 new jobs in a key employment area.

A council report added the applicant is "in discussion with a number of potential occupiers, with a view to occupying the new floorspace within the proposed development." This week’s planning approval is subject to a legal agreement.

The council has outlined plans to ensure a financial contribution from the applicant, listed as Jomast Developments Ltd and Cowie Properties LLP, in a council report. This will procure a £207,000 financial contribution aimed at "the purpose of the management of Hendon Local Wildlife Site, or an alternative site as appropriate, to ensure that Biodiversity Net Gain habitat enhancements and compensation can be secured and delivered."

For further details on the regeneration scheme or to follow its development, check out Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and look up reference: 22/01123/FU4.

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