Vandalised artwork reinstated after two years

Pamela Bilalova
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
Richard Webb/Geograph The Propellers of the City artwork in Sunderland's Keel Square. It is a blue and yellow glass circle in a grey frame. It can be rotated like the steering wheel of a boat.Richard Webb/Geograph
The artwork was installed in the city centre back in 2015

A vandalised city centre artwork has made its return after two years.

The Propellers of the City sculpture, in Sunderland's Keel Square, was damaged in December 2021.

It was removed in August 2023 as works on the new Culture House progressed, and taken for repairs in Cumbria.

Sunderland City Council said the artwork's return earlier this week was "welcome".

"The propellers are the starting point of the Keel Line running through Keel Square to the new Keel Crossing, and all commemorating our proud shipbuilding heritage," a spokesperson added.

Reinstatement of the artwork started on Monday.

Back in 2023, the city council said repairs had been delayed and "complicated" as a specialist repairer was needed.

The Propellers of the City was commissioned by the local authority and installed in 2015.

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