Work forges ahead on development of Port in Sunderland city centre

New artist's impressions show how Port in Sunderland city centre could look as work forges ahead to boost its offering.

Earlier this year, Gerard Purvis, director at the coffee shop and lifestyle store in St Thomas Street, launched a Go Fund Me to help fund a new outdoor area and kitchen space at the site.

Encouraged to do so by customers at Port, which has also become a popular space for events and creative groups, Gerard says he was overwhelmed by the response.

To date, 25% of the £2,500 needed has been raised which has paid for the first stages of the improvement works.

And Blackbox Design has created an artist's impression of how the new look outdoor areas will look.

Situated on both the St Thomas Street and John Street side of the unit, there would be up to 32 extra seats provided by the al fresco addition to the business.

Gerard said: "The new seating will double our capacity and is such a great opportunity to provide space for events in the city, such as the Stadium of Light gigs, to when the weather is nice. The increase in capacity will also create more jobs at Port.

"We have a really core crowd now. Remote workers who come in to work in the space, creatives who come here to draw and I really want to give something back by providing more here."

Speaking about the Go Fund Me, the small business owner said: "I'm just a business, not a charity, so for people to put their hand in their pockets to help is amazing.

"I was going to hold off and try and save, but the way things are at the moment being so unpredictable I felt like it would take forever. I'd mentioned to a couple of lovely regulars what my plans were and they suggested doing it as a Go Fund Me."

The funding so far has also enabled Gerard to submit the paperwork needed for a pavement licence and he's hoping to hear back on that from Sunderland City Council by the end of the month.

All going to plan, it means the new outdoor area could be up and running in the coming weeks.

Phase two of the improvements would see the creation of a better-equipped kitchen to provide a wider range of food options for daytime customers, as well as events.

Port already runs a number of evening events, such as a drink and draw night, monthly quiz , true crime talks and murder mystery nights and Gerard is hoping to increase these with bringing back music nights, young mums' clubs and book clubs.

Gerard says it's great to see more and more people supporting independents at a time when the city centre has lost many of the national retailers, including the planned closure of Marks & Spencer.

"People in Sunderland want interesting independent businesses to support and the more places that crop up, the more it encourages Sunderland people to spend their money in Sunderland," he said.

• Port, St Thomas Street is open Monday to Friday 8am-4pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm. You can donate to the campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-port-grow