Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
1 Contents 2 Executive summary 3 Project background and history 4 The company 5 Vital statistics 6 Rationale for the project 7 Organisation and management 8 Project planning 9 Design and delivery 10 Current operation 11 Wider lessons 12 Credits
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Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Executive summary The Creative Foundation was set up in 2004 to convert and manage a series of properties. The aim was to revitalise the old seaside resort of Folkestone, Kent, by developing a ‘creative quarter’ in the historic centre, drawing on a range of funding to buy sites and properties, refurbish them and lease or rent them to arts-based organisations and individuals working in the creative industries. This initiative has been supported by Arts Council England from the outset, but its capital input of some £600,000 focused on the conversion of two groups of properties to provide studio spaces for artists. Each group now contains about 20 studios. The Creative Quarter has developed rapidly, with the Creative Foundation now managing some 80 sites and buildings. By working in partnership with education and development organisations, the scope has been expanded to house a university centre, an adult education centre, a new academy, and a purpose-built performance space and business centre.
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
1 2 3 4 5 6
Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
Project background and history The Creative Foundation is breathing new life into Folkestone and the surrounding area through a project which champions the arts and the creative industries as a catalyst for regeneration, developing a creative quarter in the centre of the old town. The project aims to combine physical regeneration, economic development, social inclusion and improved educational provision, all under the banner of creativity. Historically, Folkestone was a prosperous town, first as a fishing port and later, with the coming of the railway, as a glamorous seaside resort and starting point cross-channel ferries. Like many coastal towns, it declined rapidly during the second half of the 20th century. This history is evident in its streets and buildings. The creative quarter is based on two of the most interesting old streets – Tontine Street and the Old High Street – running from the newly built town centre down to the old harbour.
Arts Council England contributed over £600,000 towards the cost of refurbishing two groups of buildings within this rapidly developing creative quarter. The buildings, 17–19 and 35–37 Tontine Street, have been converted to provide studios that are being rented out to artists, both local people and others attracted to the area by the high-quality/low-cost provision and by the ambience that is being generated. The studios are the result of a long-term supportive relationship between the Creative Foundation and other key stakeholders to encourage the development of arts activities and arts provision in Folkestone, establishing a new creative focus for the region. This is an unusual project in terms of Arts Council England capital grants. Normally the Arts Council is one of the main funders and focuses its financial input on projects which would not otherwise happen. In this case it made a relatively small financial commitment towards an ongoing project, which needs to be seen in the context of the development of the creative quarter as
a whole. The Arts Council’s input has been a significant in: • • • • •
making sufficient funding available to ensure that the studio provision was given priority providing advice on the type and quality of the provision required releasing money when it was needed (during the initial planning stages and to help secure a property at short notice) adding status and ‘credibility’ in terms of the arts providing reassurance to other partners when difficulties arose
The Arts Council’s involvement in the project was very much appreciated by the client team.
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
The company The creative quarter owes its inception to Roger De Haan, former Chairman of the Saga Group Limited, a familyowned company set up in 1948 and Folkestone’s largest private sector employer. The company was sold in 2004. Through his Chairmanship of the Metropole Gallery in Folkstone, Roger De Haan built a network of entrepreneurial individuals who drew up a blueprint for revitalising the town, setting up the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust to bring their vision into effect.
to provide commercial or live/work spaces at ground-floor street level with accommodation on the one or two floors above.
The old town in particular had become run down and neglected. The trust very quickly began to buy up derelict, empty properties in Tontine Street and the Old High Street (at the centre of the old town) with a view to renovating them and letting them at affordable but sustainable rents. The initial target was to achieve a portfolio of about 30 properties, which the trust regarded as the core amount needed to provide the catalyst for change. The trust now owns the freehold of more than 80 sites and properties, most of which are small, terraced buildings divided
The subsequent development of the Creative Quarter has been achieved in association with various statutory organisations including: • SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) • HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) • Shepway District Council • KCC (Kent County Council) • European Union funding programmes • Arts Council England • funding by private trusts and grant-giving bodies
In 2004, an additional company – The Creative Foundation – was established to take responsibility for renovating and managing the properties. The rent from the properties contributes to their maintenance costs as well as to the revenue costs of running the Creative Foundation, which also has a wider community-based role.
This consortium of interests has created a number of large-scale projects in the area all of which have the arts at their core. They include: • the Folkstone University Centre (converted from the Old Glass Works) • the adult education centre (The Cube) • the Folkestone Performing Arts and Business Centre (the ‘Quarter house’, currently under construction) • Roger de Haan Academy (replacing a failing secondary school) This network of interests is reflected in the constitution of the board of The Creative Foundation. The trustees (when the studio project was ongoing) were: • Roger De Haan CBE (Chairman) • Professor Jan Druker (Senior Pro Vice Chancellor, Canterbury Christ Church University) • Nick Ewbank (Chief Executive) • Trevor Minter OBE (Ken Partnership Director) • Dr Susan Priest (Area Director Kent and Medway, SEEDA)
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
Vital statistics 17–19 Tontine Street
35–37 Tontine Street
• • • • •
• • • • •
work started on site in February 2007. The ground floor was completed in October 2007 and the upper floors in April 2008 project costs totalled approximately £1.2 million with a build cost of £875,000 and gross internal floor area 515m2 number of studios: 21 design team (Foster Design) was selected from existing shortlists of consultants that had worked previously with Creative Foundation the contractors selected through competitive tender from shortlist drawn up by The Creative Foundation. WW Martin was appointed
work started on site in February 2007. The ground floor was completed in November 2007 and the upper floors in July 2008 project costs totalled approximately £1.8 million with a build cost of £865,000 and gross internal floor area 560m2 number of studios: 20 design team (Foster Design) was selected from existing shortlist of consultants who had worked previously with the Creative Foundation the contractors were selected through competitive tender from shortlist drawn up by The Creative Foundation Arkay building Services Ltd was appointed
Main sources of funding for the two developments • •
Roger de Hann Charitable Trust £1,770,000 Arts Council England £482,160 (plus £140,000 used to purchase other properties and sites)
Creative Foundation personnel for the two developments Project manager Gabrielle Wilson Property manager John Davenport
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Rationale for the project The Arts Council describes the Folkestone initiative as ‘an incredibly exciting model’ based on the concept of culture as the principal driver for improving education provision and quality of life as well as providing opportunities for employment and income-generation. It meets Arts Council objectives of putting arts at the heart of national life both by supporting artists and by ensuring that as wide a range of people as possible are given access to high-quality work. The purpose-designed studio provision draws practising artists into the area, contributing to the overall vision of the creative quarter as an artistic hub for the region. This was further enhanced by the inauguration in summer 2008 of the Folkestone Triennial Festival, Tales of time and space, in which over 20 internationally recognised artists working in the fields of sculpture, photography, film, installations, soundwork and performance interpreted Folkestone’s past present and future. Resident artists, local community groups and the education organisations in the
creative quarter were all closely involved in this festival or festival fringe events. The concentration of cultural activities also led to Shepway being selected as one of the ten areas to host the DCMS (Department of Culture Media and Sport) pilot programme ‘Find Your Talent’. Artists’ studios have for some time been seen as adding value to derelict areas and artists themselves are often forced to relocate once the area in which they have settled becomes too expensive for them. In Folkestone the provision of studios is integral to the overriding vision. The presence of a growing arts community both contributes to and gains from being part of this wider vision – encompassing commercial, educational and social objectives. The fact that the properties (both leasehold and freehold) are owned by charities dedicated to the provision of space for the arts should secure their future.
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust acquires properties and sites within the creative quarter, most of which it then leases to the Creative Foundation (normally with a 125-year lease at a peppercorn rent). The Creative Foundation then takes responsibility for the building work. Its team includes an administrative project manager as well as a full-time property manager, both of whom have a great deal of experience in dealing with conversions and refurbishments and with the problems they are likely to encounter in this area of Folkestone. The Creative Foundation team has a much wider brief than that of a developer and property agency. Funded by the income from the properties, its base in Tontine Street houses a staff of around 16 people. This team is responsible for the strategic development of the creative quarter, selecting the properties to be acquired, building private/public partnerships, establishing links with other organisations, and working with schools and with the wider local community
to enhance the enjoyment of the arts and extend the access to culture. The Creative Foundation also has an active role in marketing the area and the activities which take place, as well as providing business and other support for the people who live and work there. Regular monthly meetings are held with tenants, while the public is consulted on issues of more general interest (such the new roadway proposals and the operation of the new performing arts centre) through surveys, exhibitions and discussion groups. The Creative Foundation also works closely with schools; for example, a group of primary school children working with architects to design a public open space. The resident artists are also encouraged to form links with the school and college students by taking part in workshops and by offering work experience opportunities.
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
Project planning (part 1) The route by which the studio provision was achieved was a convoluted one with plans being transferred from one property to another and then on to a third. The first application to the Arts Council was submitted in October 2003 for: • •
a grant of £482,160 towards an estimated total project cost of £2,606,660 to create 29 work spaces for artists and designer makers in a former furniture warehouse at 80 Tontine Street
The Arts Council rejected this application but money was set aside and the trust was awarded grants totalling £80,000 (capacity-building and technical assistance). The Arts Council then asked the trust to develop the plans in more detail including: • • •
information on detailed disability proposals a precise definition and number of studios to be created within the specified properties operational forecasts, annual accounts, and evidence of the partnership funding required
While the Arts Council had confidence in the ability of the applicant to deliver the project and to run the buildings, the requirement to prepare a more detailed application allowed the Arts Council to have more input into the design and development of the studio spaces and the type of artist/activity they would be able to house. The trust then met with an opportunity to buy two other buildings/sites – one in Tontine Street (45/47/49 known as Dunks building) and the other in Old High Street (18–24, the Millett’s building). The Dunks building was considered to be better suited for conversion to studio spaces. On this basis the Arts Council agreed to an early release of £140,000 to enable the trust to make the purchase (October 2004). The proposal was changed again when the trust secured £3.5 million from Kent Country Council towards the cost of building the performing arts/business centre that had been planned for the area. The trust then decided the Dunks building would then be abolished to provide the site for the new development.
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Project planning (part 2) The second formal application to the Arts Council for capital funding was submitted in November 2005. •
•
•
it related to the conversion of 17 and 19 Tontine Street into (up to) 18 studio spaces for artists and designer-makers and the conversion of 35–37 Tontine Street into (up to) 11 studios for artists and designer-makers with a shopfront area in which to display work the total project on which the application was based included the purchase of the Dunks building and the Milletts building, paid for in part through an early release from the Arts Council the estimated cost of the project towards which the Arts Council had made some contribution (extended to include the performing arts building) was £4,371,983
•
•
for payment purposes the grant was based on the cost of works to 17–19 and 35–37 Tontine Street (estimated at £506,983). This allowed the Creative Foundation to draw down 95 per cent of the money spent at each stage in the process in the event, the work cost far more than this estimate and the proportion of the cost met by the Arts Council decreased significantly
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
Design and delivery (part 1) The Creative Foundation has built up a small network of architects and designers, engineers and surveyors who know the properties well, so it tends to work with these people on all but the largest projects. Initially only the ground floor areas of the selected Tontine Street properties were available, so when the development plan was being drawn up for the new studios, the estimated total project cost was below the threshold figure which requires OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) procedures to be used. This allowed the job to be given to a local team (Foster Design working alongside a surveyor), which had already successfully completed a number of refurbishments for the Creative Foundation.
Tontine Street and the Old High Street are now designated as conservation areas, which necessitated the team working closely with Shepway District Council conservation officers. The Arts Council specialist officers also contributed towards the development of the brief and the design proposals. The traditional tender process was used, with small local contractors and some larger building firms being invited to make bids for the work, all of whom had previously worked for The Creative Foundation. Different contractors were selected for each project. This procurement process followed the client’s usual practices as these had been found to deliver low cost, valuefor-money solutions. The process is appropriate for clients who have a continuing programme of building work. Had this been a one-off project, it might have proved more cost-efficient to advertise for tenders and to select a single contractor for both jobs.
The two buildings that were finally selected were large and particularly suitable for conversion into grouped studio spaces. They had, however, been acquired as part of a package deal, which included the acquisition of part of the old harbour. The deal required that the Tontine Street properties be accepted ‘as is’, with no conditions survey being carried out prior to purchase. Only the first floor areas were vacant – the accommodation above was let out to short-term housing tenants. When the upper floors subsequently became available, the Creative Foundation decided to incorporate them into the project. The roofs were found to be in a far worse condition than had been anticipated and the structural problems were further exacerbated by an earthquake, which struck Folkestone in April 2007. The result was that the costs rose and the timescale had to be extended.
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Design and delivery (part 2) Many of the problems that occurred might have been avoided if normal ‘good practice’ procedures had been followed – for example appointing a specialist surveyor to establish the condition of the property and the costs of repairs before acquisition and waiting until the properties had been vacated before embarking on the conversion scheme. In this case, however, a calculated risk was taken in order to secure other, more potentially valuable, properties within the package. The De Haan Trust also had the resources, in the long term, to complete the refurbishment of the properties regardless of their condition.
It is regarded as to the Arts Council’s credit that it remained supportive throughout this process, releasing funds when needed and showing flexibility when the Creative Foundation decided to convert buildings other than the ones to which the Arts Council had contributed purchase funding. This allowed the client to proceed with their plans and resulted in a substantial increase of the number of studios eventually provided for artists and designers.
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Current operation Each of the two buildings has a distinctive style and character despite the fact that they were designed by the same team and were converted from very similar buildings. There are relatively small-scale studios in 17–19 Tontine Street, aimed specifically at artists working with paint and materials. The ground floor studios are open to the corridors which link them, separated only by head-height partitions. This gives a community-based style of layout that promotes interaction and has already stimulated over 20 artists (residents and others) to form a collective ‘White Shed’ to exhibit, promote and sell their work. At 35–37 Tontine Street there is a wider mix of studio styles catering for a range of arts-related activities. Finished and occupied later, the tenants were beginning to make links very soon after moving in – for example, exploring the possibility of jointly leasing a ground floor space to have somewhere to meet, relax and exchange ideas and experience.
Both sets of studios provide goodquality spaces, are well equipped and offer excellent value for money. Heating and lighting is controlled by each tenant and most of the individual studios have windows that open as well as a mechanical ventilation system. The process of creating a series of spaces within existing buildings has led to different sized spaces being provided, each with its own character. The studios are let on an ‘easy in, easy out’ basis on short leases – never more than five years. In order to encourage young artists and small businesses to move into the area, the Creative Foundation keeps rents low (less than the market price) and will consider deferring the rent for those starting up or unable to pay when they first move in. The artists who have already started working from the Tontine Street studios are very enthusiastic about the quality of provision, the general ambience and the opportunities which being part of the creative quarter offers. There are waiting lists for spaces in both the buildings.
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Wider lessons The larger project, of which the studios form a part, has to be seen as very much of a ‘one-off’ project, in that it was initiated and continues to be supported by an individual prepared to devote a great deal of energy and money to making it happen. The new creative quarter also benefits from being in a town full of character, and that has retained many interesting old buildings despite (or more probably because of) many decades of neglect. The earlier National Lottery programmes funded a number of large-scale iconic projects, taking a top-down view of economic and social regeneration. The Creative Foundation project demonstrates a different approach, showing the cumulative effect of a number of small-scale interventions which, over a period of just five years, has led to much larger projects being realised by drawing a number of agencies together. www.creativefoundation.org.uk
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
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Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits
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Capital case study: The Creative Foundation Folkestone, Kent
Credits Arts Council England 14 Great Peter Street London SW1P 3NQ www.artscouncil.org.uk Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk Phone: 0845 300 6200 Textphone: 020 7973 6564 Charity registration no 1036733 You can get this publication in Braille, in large print, on audio CD and in electronic formats. Please contact us if you need any of these formats. To download this publication, or for the full list of Arts Council England publications, visit www.artscouncil.org.uk ISBN: 978-0-7287-1458-8 Š Arts Council England, May 2009 Research: Judith Strong Photos: Creative Foundation Designed by Crush www.crushed.co.uk
Contents Executive summary Project background and history The company Vital statistics Rationale for the project
7 8 9 10 11 12
Organisation and management Project planning Design and delivery Current operation Wider lessons Credits