Hotel site linked to Sunderland AFC to get upgrade
BBCA former hotel which played a central role in the formation of Sunderland AFC is to be upgraded.
The city council has given the go-ahead for improvements to the former Norfolk Hotel, in the Sunniside Conservation Area, which include structural repairs.
The red brick building is part of the local authority's plans to "regenerate" the city and is earmarked to be a cultural and community hub.
A blue plaque recognises it as the former home of the British Day School, where a meeting of local teachers in 1879 formed Sunderland and District Teachers' Association Football Club, which took on its more familiar name a year later.
Plans for the building include space for artists and craft workshops, as well as offices for voluntary and community sector organisations.
Sunderland-based developer Marengo Estates took over the 16,000 sq ft, 45-bed hotel in 2022.
It said it hoped the building - which is not listed - would be ready for occupants next year and that structural repair work would "ensure that the building will remain safe for use", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Planners said the work would "considerably improve the existing poor state of the frontage" and enhance its appearance in keeping with a conservation area.
Plans will also see window shutters fitted to improve security.