Major update on replacement for ill-fated National Glass Centre – but campaigners say it's not enough

Sunderland City Council’s cabinet of senior councillors, at its most recent meeting on July 24, 2025, made key decisions linked to emerging plans for the Glassworks Sunderland project in Sunniside.

The old Peter Smith Antiques building has previously been announced as a replacement provision for the National Glass Centre (NGC), which is planned to close at the end of July, 2026, a date previously announced by the University of Sunderland.

Council cabinet documents state Glassworks Sunderland would be “a new hub for glassmaking in the city, offering specialist facilities for artists and the public to create and produce glass art”, however, the proposed hub has been described as a “downgrade” by some.

An ‘interim provision’ is also expected in the city to address the gap between the NGC’s closure and Glassworks Sunderland’s planned opening in 2028.

The Glassworks Sunderland project was previously announced to the public as having £5 million of Government funding allocated following a successful bid to the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England (ACE).

It is understood that the Glassworks Sunderland project will be operated by Sunderland Culture, although the finer details of the proposed development, operating arrangements and a formal planning application are awaited.

The overall capital cost of the scheme has previously been reported as £7.5 million and cabinet papers discussed in July, 2025, said the site would be a “nationally significant centre of excellence for glassmaking” which would “drive economic growth and support cultural regeneration.”

At a meeting last Thursday, Sunderland City Council’s Labour cabinet were asked to “authorise” a number of actions, subject to the award of a £2,405,000 UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) grant from the North East Combined Authority (NECA).

The actions included entering into a “necessary grant funding agreement with NECA”, procuring and appointing consultants and contractors to deliver “design and enabling works” at the ex-Peter Smith Antiques building and entering into a “partnership and delivery agreement with Sunderland Culture” linked to the project and associated works.

Cabinet papers said the programme for enabling works assumes that, subject to funding being approved by NECA, work would “start on site in Autumn, 2025 and complete in Spring, 2026”.

Design work and the submission of a planning application is also expected to “commence in September 2025 and complete by the end of March 2026”.

Subject to “bridging the funding gap, developing a viable operating model and satisfying the remaining Arts Council England grant conditions”, cabinet papers said the programme of delivery for the “main phase” of Glassworks Sunderland could start on site in Autumn 2026.

The cabinet report adds: “The total capital cost of the Glassworks Sunderland project approved by ACE is estimated to be £7.5m.

“Approval of the UKSPF funding by NECA would mean that a significant proportion of the funding had been secured, and Sunderland Culture is currently working to identify other opportunities to leverage additional funding and investment.”

It was also noted that Sunderland Culture is “working with the council and other key partners and stakeholders to determine the most appropriate operating model for Glassworks Sunderland”, which will be “subject to a separate cabinet report in due course”.

Cabinet papers noted Sunderland City Council acquired the former Peter Smith Antiques building in May, 2024, in a “poor state of repair”, and a survey found £1.7 million of repair works were needed covering the roof, windows, concrete and brick, mechanical and electrical systems and more.

It was noted that securing UKSPF grant funding via NECA would “unlock the delivery of essential predevelopment design and enabling works” to “preserve and enhance” the site.

An alternative option not to enter into a grant funding agreement with NECA for the UKSPF grant was discounted by cabinet as it would “leave a significant gap in the funding required to deliver the Glassworks Sunderland project.”

Sunderland City Council confirmed that the £2.4 million of UKSPF funding for enabling works is classed as part of the £7.5 million capital project approved by ACE, although not in its entirety.

The council stated this is because not all of the enabling works are eligible as part of the overall Arts Council England project.

Sunderland City Council was asked to clarify what proportion of the £2.4 million UKSPF funding would be spent on enabling works for Glassworks Sunderland, given repairs are quoted in council documents as £1.7 million, and what remaining UKSPF funding would be used for.

The local authority said there was “no additional information that can be shared at this stage” and that updates would be given at “appropriate times as the project develops”.

A council spokesperson said: “The costs are currently being firmed up prior to contracting the various elements of delivery so there is no additional information that can be shared at this stage.

“Together with our colleagues at Sunderland Culture we will continue to provide updates at appropriate times as the project develops.”

The Save the National Glass Centre Campaign has raised concerns about the proposed location for Glassworks Sunderland since its announcement earlier this year.

They said Sunderland City Council’s decision to continue with the development ignores public concern over “safety, location and cultural loss”, along with concerns that the £7.5 million capital estimate for the scheme could be exceeded.

There has also been criticism around the level of consultation and the proposals introducing an “industrial process next to family homes”, with campaigners calling for the council to “pause development” and consult the public further.

“The National Glass Centre is world-renowned, tearing it downwithout a proven, safe alternative is a cultural tragedy in the making,” a campaign spokesperson added.

Glassworks Sunderland was discussed by senior councillors as part of a regeneration update report linked to the Sunniside area.

The project sits against a backdrop of controversial proposals to close the National Glass Centre, which continue to be opposed by campaigners.

At a recent meeting of Sunderland City Council in June, 2025, it was agreed that the local authority would press university bosses for more details about its decision to close the National Glass Centre.

Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor and chief executive at the university, recently released an open letter in response to Labour councillor and North Sunderland Area Committee chair, Denny Wilson, who had previously penned an open letter calling for more answers over the future of NGC.

In the open letter in response, the vice-chancellor said the university had “not yet determined what will happen to the NGC site” but that it was “likely that the university will incur the cost of demolishing the building properly and safely at the earliest possible opportunity” before “determining next steps.”

The cabinet report on Glassworks Sunderland is available to view via Sunderland City Council’s website.