'New home' for Leamington creative industries opens as part of town centre regeneration project
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A "vibrant inspirational” new home for creative industries in Leamington has opened today as part of a major transformation of the town centre.
The Fold is situated in the refurbished Grade II listed United Reformed Church in Spencer Street which contains a green screen studio, foley suite and sound suite with attached VO room, multiple meeting rooms, networking and co-working spaces, and a members’ club along with office space for leading independent marketing group Cogent.
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Hide AdThe state-of-the-art sound and visual production facilities are nestled in the coves and tunnels of the church crypts while stunning open-plan workspaces, thoughtfully designed meeting rooms and relaxation areas encourage collaboration on the ground floor.
The Fold will also be the first Midlands base for the SAE Institute, who are working in partnership with Cogent to provide two-year degree courses in creative media.
The Fold is one of three formerly derelict buildings in Spencer Yard that have being restored and brought back to creative industry use by regeneration specialists Complex Development Projects (CDP).
CDP acquired the buildings from Warwick District Council as part of their 10-year Creative Quarter partnership which plans to transform the Old Town into a destination for creative businesses.
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Hide AdThe scheme has received a grant from the Future High Streets Fund as part of the Government’s plan to renew and reshape town centres – making them a more attractive place to live, work and visit.
The financial package also includes a loan from West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) arranged by Frontier Development Capital.
Ian Gathard, CEO of the Cogent Group, said The Fold would be accessible to everyone that wants to work in a creative, collaborative environment, whatever their background.
He said: “We wanted to create a properly accessible creative community for people regardless of their background or education who might have struggled to get a foothold in the industry in the past.
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Hide Ad“I love the fact that CDP’s development team has been able to retain the wonderful interiors of this historical building maintaining its history and making it applicable to the modern world.”
Steffan Davies, Managing Director at SAE Europe, said this would be its fourth campus in the UK following on from London, Liverpool and Glasgow.
“The USP of SAE has always been to provide students with practical experience and we were attracted to Leamington because of its reputation for being the home of so many leading gaming businesses,” he said.
“We also provide our students with an education that is aligned with the industry, so being co-located with Cogent at The Fold is perfect for our students to engage with this.
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Hide Ad“We have our first cohort of students already enrolled in Leamington and this will be a fantastic opportunity to make the most of this wonderful new hub to gain first-hand experience in this incredibly diverse sector.”
Ian Harrabin, of CDP, said that the scheme was an exemplar of best practice in how a historic building can not only be brought back into use, but also by introducing modern additions, can be brought up to date as an inspiring place to work.