Proposed new Glassworks site announced

The new Sunderland glassmaking hub could be located at the old Peter Smith antiques warehouse

The proposed site of a new glassmaking hub has been announced.

Glassworks Sunderland will be based in the former Peter Smith antiques warehouse on Borough Road in Sunniside, the city's council said.

The government announced the £5m project earlier this year, as part of a £60m fund for creative industries.

Campaigners previously said a new site would be bittersweet as the city's National Glass Centre is set to close in 2026, leaving some residents feeling "robbed".

The new location will be run by arts organisation Sunderland Culture with the aim of preserving 1,350 years of glassmaking history.

Sunderland City Council said: "The expectation is that it will be one of the few places in the UK with specialist glassmaking facilities for artists and participants to create and produce in glass."

Repairs to the doomed National Glass Centre were estimated to cost £45m

Jo Howell, who has been leading the campaign to prevent the closure of the National Glass Centre, previously said the smaller site was like a "sticking plaster over an open wound".

Sunderland University had said it was closing the existing heritage site because it would cost between £14m and £45m to repair the buildings.

The Labour-run authority warned that Glassworks Sunderland was still at an "early stage".

"The first step will be for the partners to come together with glassmakers to develop a robust business model for what will become a self-sustaining glassmaking hub," the council said.