The Future - Creative Hub
Torbay Council has given the go-ahead for a new building at Cockington Court, which will house 15 purpose built studios, a resource area and a support office.
The planning application for the development behind the Rose Garden has now been approved. It follows a formal public consultation during 2009 where 91% of participants were in favour of the project. The new build is all part of a £2.85 million project to regenerate the historic attraction and transform the Court into a creative hub.
Cockington Court will become a creative hub, developed within the existing heritage and outstanding landscape of Cockington Village. The revitalised manor house and surround will become an inspirational new art space, featuring new galleries, studios, teaching facilities and an incubation space designed to nurture new creative businesses.
The £3.10 million project is aimed at protecting and nurturing our heritage and culture for the residents of and visitors to the Bay attracting higher-spending consumers into the area, whilst also creating jobs for creative business people, from art graduates to crafts people and architects to graphic designers.The integrated craft and creative hub at Cockington will further cement the Bay's growing reputation as a hotbed of artistic talent. The visitor experience will also be enhanced throughout the village and Court by providing better signage to the artists available.
The project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the Government's Sea Change Programme and £1 million in match funding from the European Union's Regional Competitiveness and Employment programme (ERDF). This match funding follows an application by the council's regenerative arm, the Torbay Development Agency (TDA) through the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) earlier this year.
Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Councillor Chris Lewis, said: "This new building is the final piece of the jigsaw for this fantastic project, which will create jobs for disadvantaged communities and creative business people as well as new attractions for our residents.
"This new building will enhance the opportunities available for crafts people and will encourage visitors to come to see what they are doing as well as buy their goods. The resource area will enable different organisations and individuals from schools to crafts people to learn new skills or teach others.
“This whole project is about driving up the quality, drawing more visitors into the area and developing the cultural sector of the economy.”
The South West RDA's Head of Competitiveness, Nigel Howells, said: "The ERDF funding programme has supported the Cockington Court project from the start and we are therefore delighted that this new building has been given the go ahead.
“By extending the facilities on site, the project will be able to reach and support more people within Torbay; providing deprived and disadvantaged people in the area with the intensive support and space needed to start and grow their own businesses, as well as providing a base from where organisations providing specialist business support can reach this audience. Cockington Court will play an important part in our ongoing work with partners to unlock the business potential in Torbay, encouraging innovation and growth in the area."
