Glassworks plans welcomed by Sunniside creative business

Sunnide's creative community has welcomed news of a funding boost that is set to help secure the future of glassmaking in Sunderland, as a proposed home for Glassworks: Sunderland is unveiled. 

Creative businesses based in the historic corner of the city centre said that a £5m commitment by the UK Government - which will pave the way for Glassworks: Sunderland in Sunniside - will build on the strengths of the area's creative industries and that the whole area will benefit. 

While earlier announcements confirmed that Sunniside was the planned home of Glassworks: Sunderland, it has now been revealed that the former Peter Smith antiques warehouse in Borough Road has been earmarked as the proposed location, with few other buildings suitable to house the specialist equipment needed to power a glass-making facility.  This will breathe new life into a building that currently stands empty and fits with wider regeneration plans for this part of the city.  Sunderland Culture - which bid for the £5m from the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport - is leading the plans for Glassworks: Sunderland.

Proposals to locate Glassworks: Sunderland in the building have been welcomed by Theatre Space North East, who last year released details of their own ambitions to move into the space to create an auditorium, as well as space to host touring productions and other local groups, creative offices and rehearsal spaces.

The council and TSNE have been working hand-in-hand to explore alternative ways of realising their aspirations of adding to the theatre provision in the area, while retaining the warehouse for use as a new glass studio. 

Sunderland City Council own TSNE's current base as well as the former antiques warehouse, and the local authority is keen to enable both buildings to support the development of a vibrant cultural offer in Sunniside. 

Corinne Kilvington, founder and artistic director of Theatre Space North East (TSNE), said: "Because we recognise the importance of glass-making to the area and the unique characteristics of the Peter Smith Antques building, we will explore other ways of delivering on our ambitions with the council, while supporting the vision for a Glassworks in Sunniside, which we will be proud to have as our neighbour.  As a business that has been based in Sunniside for many years, this is a part of Sunderland that we love and are incredibly passionate about."

She said: "Sunniside is such a brilliant creative part of the city, and we want it to thrive.  It's exciting that we have the possibility of a world-class facility - in Glassworks: Sunderland - on the doorstep, and we hope that by supporting Sunderland Culture and partners to realise their ambitions of bringing Glassworks to Sunniside, the city will retain its proud glassmaking heritage and strengthen Sunniside's offer in the process."

Sunderland Culture has been awarded a £5m grant by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, and will collaborate with partners including the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) along with Sunderland City Council and the University of Sunderland on the development of Glassworks: Sunderland - an ambitious, new world-class facility for glassmaking.

Glassworks: Sunderland is intended to become a nationally significant centre of excellence for glassmaking, connecting Sunderland's 1350 years of glassmaking heritage and the city's creative future.  The expectation is that it will be one of the few places in the UK with specialist glassmaking facilities for artists and participants to create and produce in glass - safeguarding glassmaking in the city, driving growth and productivity among creative businesses, and supporting cultural regeneration and placemaking.

Development of the partnership project is still at an early stage, with funding announced earlier this month (Friday 17 January).  Following the good news that the bid for £5m from the Cultural Development Fund has been successful - securing the maximum available funding under the CDF programme - the first step will be for the partners to come together with glassmakers to develop a robust business model for what will become a self-sustaining glass making hub. 

In parallel, detailed work will be undertaken in relation to the additional funds which need to be raised to identify wider sources of investment that can be secured including philanthropic investment. 

Nick Malyan, chief executive of Sunderland Culture, said: "Glassworks: Sunderland is a hugely ambitious project that will unleash the creative potential of Sunniside, a place that is already brimming with creativity.  There's a sense of freedom and expression in this area that Glassworks will build on, and we're really excited to work with businesses in the area - including TSNE, along with glassmakers and creatives from across the region  - to shape our plans."

Councillor Beth Jones, cabinet member for communities, culture and tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: "It's been brilliant to see proposals for Glassworks: Sunderland receive such a warm welcome from the wider city community, as well as creative businesses in Sunniside and we're looking forward to working with our partners to move this exciting project forward."