Glass Centre listing bid turned down

A bid to achieve listed status for the doomed National Glass Centre (NGC) has been turned down.

The government said the building lacked "sufficient architectural [or] historical interest to warrant listing", while Historic England said alterations to the "visually bold" Sunderland venue had "eroded" its original design concept.

Sunderland University, which has plans to demolish the centre, said it would continue to comply with planning requirements, while Historic England backed the university's application for immunity from listing.

The Save the National Glass Centre campaign group said it would be making further representations to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

A group spokesperson said: "We welcome the opportunity to clarify the factual content of the report and to highlight how closely the NGC meets Historic England's criteria."

The glass centre opened in 1998 but shut in July after Sunderland University said it needed significant remedial work costing between £14m and £45m - figures disputed by campaigners.

The bid to achieve a listed status for the building, which housed workshops and hot glass furnaces, was submitted in the spring.

Historic England gave its advice to DCMS on 5 August, but the decision was only confirmed last week.

The accompanying report stated the NGC was an "interesting example of late-C20 design", but the building had been "significantly altered" in 2013 and 2022 when key design elements were removed.

Meanwhile, a roof plaza was never fully realised which impacted negatively on its overall interest in a national context.

"It originally envisaged seating, sculpture and planting, the use of local stone roofing slabs and a grid of trees in the upper level," the report said.

"This was to emphasize a sequence from trees to sandstone to glass, mirroring the sequence of the origin of glass.

"However, concrete slabs were installed instead of the intended stone slabs, seating did not materialise and sculpture/planting was either never installed or has since been removed."

A review of the decision may be requested within 28 days and immunity against listing would not be issued until that concluded.

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