Towards the end of last week it was revealed that the National Glass Centre (NGC) in Sunderland could be relocated in the city due to structural issues at the current site which were revealed following an inspection.

Apparently it will take a multi-million-pound investment to correct the faults if it is to stay at its current location – since 2010 it has been owned by the University of Sunderland which has, in recent years, had to undertake a series of works to address structural-related issues in the NGC including blocking public access to the roof.

It is understood that the centre has two or three years to find a solution and the university is currently working with its partners, Sunderland City Council and Sunderland Culture, to look for new city centre locations.

I remember when the centre first opened in June 1998 and I got this shot of the impressive glass artwork at the entrance which was used by The Northern Echo.

The building even had a glass roof which visitors were encouraged to walk upon and it aimed to reflect to the city’s heritage in the field of glassmaking which I think it achieved. Bizarrely I was sent to the centre after it opened to take photos of the chef who worked at the cafe there.

It turned out he was Pete Zulu who was a member of the north east punk band The Toy Dolls who had a hit with the single Nellie The Elephant in the early 1980s.

He hit the headlines because some customers had complained because they had only received five chips with their meal – having said that they were extremely chunky fries so their complaints were unfounded in my opinion. As far as I was aware he ended up at the Black Horse pub in West Boldon.

In 2009 I had to visit Sunderland, to take my senior journalism exams at the neighbouring university campus, and it was good to see the artwork was still there although, worryingly, there appeared to be a large crack in the glass which I am told happened when kids threw stones at it.

I do hope that they find a solution to the situation as it was a flagship venue which showed Sunderland and its glassmaking heritage in the best light.