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Planning application

Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

Awaiting decision Sunderland 26/01552/VA3

Relates to 23/02397/HY4

Still open. Anyone can comment while the consultation period runs, and comments go to the council rather than to us.

Proposal

Variation of conditions of planning permission ref. 23/02397/HY4 (Hybrid planning application for the creation of a film and TV studios) - variation of condition 4 to allow for changes to approved levels, layout, design, scale and appearance of buildings, access and car parking arrangements, 'backlot' filming areas, boundary of detailed/outline area and phasing of development in Site A and variation to wording of conditions 18, 26, 27, 30, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 44 and 50 to reflect proposed phased approach to development.

As published by the council, reference 26/01552/VA3

Application record

Reference
26/01552/VA3
Status
Current
Received
14 Jul 2026
Validated
16 Jul 2026

Site history

Applications at this address on the Sunderland register

This site has had 6 applications since 2023: 5 approved, 0 refused.

  • 25/00321/DIS Granted

    Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

    Partial discharge of condition 6 (CEMP) attached to planning application 23/02397/HY4 (Part 1 of 2)

    Decided 4 Mar 2025 Conditions
  • 25/00326/DIS Granted

    Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

    Partial discharge of condition 32 (CTMP) attached to planning application 23/02397/HY4 (Part 2 of 2)

    Decided 4 Mar 2025 Conditions
  • 24/02097/DIS Granted

    Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

    Partial discharge (Site A only) of Condition 12 (Remediation strategy) of planning approval 23/02397/HY4. Part 2 of 2

    Decided 18 Nov 2024 Conditions
  • 24/02086/DIS Granted

    Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

    Partial discharge (Site A only) of Condition 11 ( Site investigations) of planning approval 23/02397/HY4. Part 1 of 2

    Decided 18 Nov 2024 Conditions
  • 23/02397/HY4 Granted

    Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

    Hybrid planning application for the creation of a film and tv studios to include the following: Detailed planning approval for the erection of soundstages with attached office buildings, production workshops, a gateway building containing security checkpoint, hospitality and administrative facilities, a multi-storey car park, a substation, a waste recycling centre, ancillary structures including for the storage of bins and cycles, with associated earthworks, site accesses, drainage, landscaping and infrastructure provision. Outline planning approval (matters reserved: scale, layout, appearance and landscaping) for film and tv studio uses including sound stages, production offices and production workshops with ancillary hospitality and administrative facilities, ancillary buildings / structures including for sub-stations, waste and cycle storage; the conversion of the red brick building into a technical education academy associated with the tv and film industry; a vendors village to provide offices and warehousing for supporting businesses; multi storey car park; the demolition of all other buildings on site; with site accesses, earthworks, drainage, landscaping and infrastructure provision. Temporary planning approval for 'meanwhile uses' associated with backlots (external filming areas) including temporary structures and infrastructure. ADDITIONAL HIGHWAYS INFORMATION RECEIVED 06.03.24

    Decided 28 Jun 2024 Other

Timeline

Dates from the published record

  1. 14 Jul 2026

    Received by Sunderland

  2. 16 Jul 2026

    Validated

    Checked as complete and ready for consideration.

  3. 6 Aug 2026

    Added to PlanIndex

  4. Decision

    Awaiting decision

    Decision expected by 10 September 2026, 8 weeks from validation under the statutory target for most applications. Extensions of time are common and are agreed case by case.

    Sunderland took a median of 74 days over the applications it decided in the last year.

Cases linked to this one on the register

  • 23/02397/HY4 Granted

    Land East And West Of The Southern Side Of The Northern Spire Bridge And South Of Paul Watson Way, Sunderland

    Hybrid planning application for the creation of a film and tv studios to include the following: Detailed planning approval for the erection of soundstages with attached office buildings, production workshops, a gateway building containing security checkpoint, hospitality and administrative facilities, a multi-storey car park, a substation, a waste recycling centre, ancillary structures including for the storage of bins and cycles, with associated earthworks, site accesses, drainage, landscaping and infrastructure provision. Outline planning approval (matters reserved: scale, layout, appearance and landscaping) for film and tv studio uses including sound stages, production offices and production workshops with ancillary hospitality and administrative facilities, ancillary buildings / structures including for sub-stations, waste and cycle storage; the conversion of the red brick building into a technical education academy associated with the tv and film industry; a vendors village to provide offices and warehousing for supporting businesses; multi storey car park; the demolition of all other buildings on site; with site accesses, earthworks, drainage, landscaping and infrastructure provision. Temporary planning approval for 'meanwhile uses' associated with backlots (external filming areas) including temporary structures and infrastructure. ADDITIONAL HIGHWAYS INFORMATION RECEIVED 06.03.24

    Decided 28 Jun 2024 Other

What happens while it is decided

This application is with Sunderland for determination, against a statutory target of eight weeks. Over the last year Sunderland's median decision took 74 days. More in our guide to how long planning decisions take.

About this record

The published feed does not state which type of application this is; the register entry on Sunderland's portal will say. Our guide explains the common types.