Entrance to Sunderland's Roker Pier gets £75,000 revamp

The gates will be made of steel and glass

The entrance to Sunderland's Roker Pier is to benefit from a £75,000 make over.

New gates, made from a series of polished stainless steel posts and toughened glass panels are to be installed next year.

The design was described as "classy and contemporary" by residents in the city who took part in a public consultation on the project.

The pier and lighthouse are a Grade II listed structure. The pier took 18 years to build and opened in 1903.

Sunderland City Council's culture spokesman Denny Wilson, said the new gates - dubbed Lightwave - would create "an impressive new entrance to one of the seafront's best-loved landmarks."

'Capture spirit'

He added: "The seafront is one of our greatest assets.

"This is just the first of a number of improvements people can expect to see to the seafront over the next 18 months following the consultation we carried out last year."

Sunderland was awarded £1m from the Commission for the Built Environment (CABE) to revamp the area and was boosted by £500,000 of extra funding from the city council.

Fiona Heron, who designed the gates, said: "Lightwave aims to capture the spirit of the place using ideas of reflection and movement linked with the sea and the effect of light on glass prisms.

"I hope to help re-invigorate the scene with an exciting high quality artwork which brings out the best in art and design."