Wearside furniture store to close; Lacks retail planning permission

18th December 2009 | retail | An independent furniture retailer in Sunderland has been told it must close its retail showroom after failing to succeed with a retrospective application to gain planning permission for retail use on the site.

Barringtons Furniture, which trades as Furniture 2 Go Direct, is thought to have been using the Hendon Road facility for six years without the necessary planning permission, according to the Sunderland Echo newspaper.

The firm, when told it only had permission to use the building as a factory or warehouse, applied for change of use but councillors objected, saying it would be potentially harmful to existing designated retail sites.

Furniture 2 Go Direct also operates its own transactional website, at furniture2godirect.co.uk, which cites brands including Caxton, Mark Webster and G Plan among its best selling suppliers.