Campaigners raise new glass centre safety fears

Significant repairs are needed to the building which is due to replace Sunderland's National Glass Centre

Campaigners wanting to save the National Glass Centre (NGC) from closure have claimed its proposed replacement building "raises serious health and safety concerns".

Save the National Glass Centre said placing the planned Glassworks "15 metres from high-rise, high-density housing at the bottom of Borough Road" in Sunderland was "reckless".

A report discussing repairs to the new site was presented at a council cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Sunderland Culture, which will run Glassworks, said it would work to ensure the facilities are fit for purpose and said there had been "good progress" on the plans. The city council said there would be an "appropriate" consultation once plans are submitted.

Last November the University of Sunderland announced the NGC would close in July 2026, blaming unaffordable repair costs for the decision.

Glassworks, at the former Peter Smith Antiques site in Sunniside, is planned to open in 2028.

'Potentially hazardous'

The report presented to cabinet on Thursday claimed the new facility would "act as the catalyst for the establishment of the Sunniside Creative Hub" and would help increase footfall to the area.

According to the document, the council acquired the building in 2024 "in poor state" and a survey identified a need to complete about £1.7m of repairs to the roof and windows alongside mechanical and electrical upgrades.

Enabling works could start as soon as September, subject to funding.

A spokesperson for the group fighting to save the NGC said: "Placing a potentially hazardous industrial process next to family homes, and doing so without genuine public consultation, is reckless and disrespectful.

"We are not being listened to."

Campaigners urged the Labour-run city council to pause the Glassworks development, engage in "a full and transparent public consultation and develop the NGC as a safer and much more suitable location".

The National Glass Centre will close next July

Sunderland City Council said: "The works considered at Thursday's cabinet meeting relate to the repair and preservation of the former Peter Smith Antiques building.

"As and when any planning application is submitted the necessary statutory processes will be followed, including appropriate public and stakeholder consultation."

Sunderland Culture said: "We continue to make good progress in developing our plans for Glassworks: Sunderland.

"This will include all necessary planning approvals and permissions."

Campaigners have previously raised concerns that the project costs could exceed the £7.5m estimate, especially if extensive safety and infrastructure modifications are needed to make the new site viable.

The group has also warned that glass-making might be "lost forever" from Sunderland if the move failed.

"The National Glass Centre is world-renowned," added the spokesperson.

"Tearing it down without a proven, safe alternative is a cultural tragedy in the making."

Sunderland Culture has previously said its fundraising target reflected the costs "for making the building fit for purpose as a glass-making space".

It has also said there would be an interim provision in the city to address the gap between the NGC's closure in 2026 and Glassworks opening in 2028.