First look at latest sculpture by 'Tommy' creator Ray Lonsdale which will pay tribute to city's miners

Ray Lonsdale has been commissioned to produce a new artwork for the former Houghton Colliery site.

Ray, who will work on the sculpture with son Sam at their business Two Red Rubber Things in South Hetton, said the design was intended to pay tribute to what had gone before but also what comes next.

"They wanted something that would be visible from the end of Newbottle Street and that was to do with the site’s mining heritage,” he said.

"I wanted to do something that represents the end of the pits – the idea is that someone is hanging up all their equipment and walking away and that what is beyond that is the future.

He expects the artwork to be in place sometime in 2022: “We will be starting fairly soon but the work will be spread out and as far as I am aware, we are looking at next year before it is going to be installed.”

Sunderland City Council’s cabinet agreed to sell eight acres of land at the former colliery site to developer Hellens Group Ltd in 2019, to progress a £12million development plan which aims to ‘expand and compliment’ Houghton town centre.

The scheme includes 6,000 square metres of retail space and outline plans for a new roundabout and improved access.

Funding for the new artwork has come from Sunderland City Council’s Coalfield Area Committee.

Copt Hill ward member Coun Kevin Johnston said local councillors were ‘absolutely thrilled’ with the design and the sculpture would ‘provide an everlasting tribute to the miners and their families who worked at Houghton Colliery’.

“This has been a really exciting project to work on over the last year through the Dynamic City portfolio and I’m absolutely thrilled as a Houghton-born-and-bred lad that we have commissioned such a high profile local artist and he has produced such a prominent and meaningful design, capturing the heritage of Houghton Colliery and our mining past,” he said.

“The artwork is something everyone in Houghton can get behind and be proud of. We are confident the new artwork will act as an attraction, bringing people into Houghton and onto Newbottle Street.”

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