Green light for amusement arcade to become homes

Plans to turn a city centre amusement arcade and former printing works into flats have been given the go-ahead.

Sunderland City Council's planning department has approved an application for the former Mason Amusements building on Holmeside.

It was built as a printing works office in the 1920s and then served as an amusement centre for decades, but is not a listed building.

Developer Darryl Cullerton has been given permission to turn the empty ground-floor units into two commercial spaces, with the top two floors to become eight flats.

Each floor would have two one-bed apartments for single occupancy, a one-bed apartment for up to two people and a two-bed apartment for up to three occupants.

As part of the planning approval, the developer is expected to contribute about £4,500 to the council to help mitigate the impact of the development on coastal nature sites - known as a section 106 agreement.

Under planning conditions, work must start within three years.

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