A CITY’S newly created public square will be officially opened amid ongoing multi-million pound regeneration work.
Sunderland’s Mayor, councillor Barry Curran, will perform the honours along with city council leader Paul Watson, to mark completion of Keel Square, on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31, at 11am.
The £3 million public space is seen as a focal point in the re-development of the city centre and is seen as an important landmark welcoming visitors to Sunderland.
It was named and themed to mark the city’s international significance and its shipbuilding heritage.
Coun Watson said: “The square celebrates our world-class shipbuilding prowess and proud industrial heritage.
“It gives the city a space for events and a landmark of which we can be proud.”
Coun Watson said the square is home to two pieces of public art, the Keel Line and Propellers of the City.
The Keel Line is a strip of engraved granite that runs through the square and will continue over St Mary’s Boulevard, into and through the proposed former Vaux site developments, to the riverside.
At its start can be seen Propellers of the City, a 3.5 metre (11.5ft) tall interactive sculpture, which includes the photographs of 400 local people who worked in the shipyards.
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