Update on first phase of work at building earmarked for new Sunderland glassmaking hub
Plans have been approved for the first phase of “enabling works” at a building earmarked for a new glassmaking hub on Wearside.
The latest meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee discussed the application for the old Peter Smith Antiques building in Borough Road in the Sunniside area.
Proposals were submitted earlier this year by local authority officers for “phase one enabling works” at the council-owned building.
Planning documents state the aim of this is to “address building defects that are compromising the property’s structural stability and external envelope”.
The warehouse site has previously been announced as the location for a replacement provision for the National Glass Centre.
The site is due to close at the end of July, 2026, with owners the University of Sunderland citing unaffordable repair costs.
Council cabinet documents have described Glassworks Sunderland as “a new hub for glassmaking in the city, offering specialist facilities for artists and the public to create and produce glass art.”
It is expected to be operated by Sunderland Culture, although the finer details of the proposed development are awaited.
However, the proposed hub has been described as a “downgrade” by some.
The latest planning application aims to “address building defects that are compromising the property’s structural stability and external envelope”.
A design, access and heritage statement prepared on behalf of Sunderland City Council notes the proposed works would “leave the building wind and watertight in preparation for Phase 2.”
Councillors at the latest meeting of the city council’s Planning and Highways Committee (on Monday, November 24) agreed to approve the application without dissent, in line with recommendations from local authority officers.
A report from planners noted the development “is concerned with conservation-led, sympathetic consolidation and repair of an important historic building within the Sunniside Conservation Area.”
It added that “positive weight must be given to the conservation of this historic building and the benefits this brings to the conservation area.”
Cllr Michael Dixon had asked officers for assurances that the “proposed works would have been carried out anyway irrespective of the planned use as Glassworks.”
Local authority bosses responded by stressing the project is “a first phase of enabling works to make the building wind and water tight, regardless of what happens in the future.”
They added: “Yes there’s a direction of travel linked to Glassworks, but whether or not that does or doesn’t happen, we’ve secured that funding to do these works to safeguard the property and it is grant funding rather than the council’s own resources.”
The meeting also heard without further action “the decay will become worse” and although it is “generally a well-built building which has been looked after to a point by the previous owner” it does need “significant investment to restore it and make it usable for future users.”
Those behind the works previously said the project would “safeguard the historic building and ensure it can meet the needs of modern uses”.
Sunderland City Council, in a statement earlier this year, described the planning application as an “important milestone” in efforts to bring the building back into use.
It came after in July the local authority’s ruling Labour cabinet made a number of key decisions linked to improving the building and the emerging plans for the Glassworks Sunderland project.
Councillors agreed 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).
This 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.
It also included entering into a “partnership and delivery agreement with Sunderland Culture” linked to the project and associated works.
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