Listed status bid for threatened glass centre
BBCA bid has been submitted to achieve listed status for the demolition-threatened National Glass Centre (NGC).
The Sunderland venue is set to close at the end of July because of repair costs placed at between £14m and £45m, figures which campaigners hoping to save the building have disputed.
Historic England confirmed it had received the application for the centre, as well as a Certificate of Immunity (COI) request from site custodian the University of Sunderland.
A COI is valid for five years during which a building could not be listed or protected from demolition through a Building Preservation Notice.
The timings of any decision depended on "external factors and the complexity of the case", Historic England said.
'Grave danger'
The listing bid has been put together by the Save the National Glass Centre campaign group and charity The Twentieth Century Society.
Campaigners said they had applied for listing two years ago but the bid did not progress because the building was not the minimum listing age of 30 at the time or in danger of demolition.
"With the help of the architect Andy Gollifer and project director Roger Clubley, we have uncovered evidence that, although the building was not opened until 1998, it actually became 30 in February of this year when the site was levelled," the group said.
"The age starts with the breaking of the ground, not the finished building.
"We were also able to prove that the building is indeed in grave, and imminent, danger of demolition."
A spokesperson for the University of Sunderland said it continued to follow "all planning rules and guidelines in relation to the closure and subsequent planned demolition" of the building.
In March Sunderland City Council, which was run by Labour at the time, backed a motion opposing the closure of the NGC.
But last month the University of Sunderland requested what is known as a "screening opinion" to accompany a "prior approval" application for its proposed demolition.
It helps applicants find out if a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is needed before making a planning application.
In a consultee response, Historic England has said determination of the screening opinion should be delayed until there is a decision on the Certificate of Immunity.
