Keel Square is a public space and boulevard based in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Tyne & Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

, completed in 2015. Located to the north of the City Centre opposite the

Vaux Site The Vaux Site is an area of brownfield land in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear currently undergoing development. The area of the former Vaux Breweries until its closure in 1999, the council are recreating the site in a multi-million poun ...

, the square was constructed as part of the larger St. Mary's Way redevelopment. The total cost of the project amounts to £11.8 million. A celebration of Sunderland's maritime and industrial heritage, the square's name was decided by the city's residents.

Design

Keel Square was designed by Sunderland City Council’s in-house multi-disciplinary team led by Principal Landscape Architect Kevin Johnson. The central purpose of the square is to celebrate Sunderland's Maritime and Industrial Heritage. Thus to build upon such, the square was constructed predominantly out of sandstone, granite and bronze. Additionally, the square was constructed to supplement the neighbouring Vaux Site in order to create a more attractive business environment in the city As Sunderland Council Leader Paul Watson Quoted: The square hosts a unique public art feature to embed the industrial past, known as “The Keel Line”. The start of the line is marked by the sculpture “Propellers of the City” designed by Stephen Broadbent, containing names of those who worked in the Wear shipyards. “The Keel Line” structure represents the length of the “Naess Crusader” the largest ship ever launched on the Wear. It is further aligned by a strip of paving listing over 8,100 ships launched on the Wear and incorporate a series of illustrations recording the history of Sunderland by renowned graphic artist

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequel '' Heart of Empire'', as well as the ''Grandville'' series of books. He collaborated ...

Controversy and criticism

The new square has attracted considerable controversy and criticism, largely relating to the costs of the project.

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

opposition councillors in Sunderland criticised the excess amount of money spent upon the project. Additionally, the council were further criticised over the project for spending £180,000 on imported trees from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to place in the corresponding boulevard.

References

{{City of sunderland City of Sunderland Tourist attractions in the City of Sunderland Monuments and memorials in Tyne and Wear Squares in England