A \u00a36m fund has opened to transform underused buildings into workspaces for the West of England’s creative sector.<\/p>\n
The Greenlight West Creative Workspace Fund, launched by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, will support creative organisations to refurbish and retrofit premises over the next eight weeks.<\/p>\n
The region’s creative industries employ more than 40,000 people and contribute \u00a31.6bn to the local economy each year, according to the Combined Authority.<\/p>\n
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “The West of England’s creative sector contributes enormously to our regional economy, and we’re already one of the UK’s leading destinations for film and TV production. We’re determined to build on that success, growing our reputation as a world-class creative hub and creating more jobs and opportunities across the region. But for too long, local creative businesses have struggled to find the affordable specialist space they need to grow. The Greenlight West Creative Workspace Fund will help unlock underused buildings and create the high-quality workspaces that people need to innovate and thrive right here in the West of England.”<\/p>\n
The Combined Authority says employment in the creative sector has grown by 82% since 2015, but workspace provision has not kept pace.<\/p>\n
Funding will support projects that expand access to specialist facilities for screen and CreaTech sectors, affordable workspaces, skills and training facilities, managed workspace and makerspaces for creative entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
The programme is expected to create dozens of jobs and generate an economic boost of up to \u00a36.7m for the region.<\/p>\n
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy added: “Through the Creative Places Growth Fund, we’re putting funding in the hands of local leaders, giving them the freedom to invest in what works for their communities and creative sectors. Greenlight West is a great example of that approach in action: backing local jobs, skills and businesses, while helping the region compete.”<\/p>\n
Organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors can apply until 12 noon on 3 December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Programme aims to tackle shortage of affordable studios<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":14904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,1],"coauthors":[160],"class_list":["post-47511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative","category-latest-news","tag-bristol-and-bath","tag-featured-story"],"yoast_head":"\n