3. Chamberlink June 57-76.qxp_Chamberlink 28/05/2021 10:23 Page 69
Manufacturing
A new lease of life for former Daimler car factory
Powerhouse: James Davies (front left) with Mike Vining (Wigley), Chenine Bhathena, Roger Medwell, (Godiva Awakes Trust, which Imagineer is part of), Zamaurd Hussain, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, and Robert Wigley, with aerial artistes Luka Owen and Daniel Connor
The major transformation of the only remaining part of the Daimler car factory in Coventry into a £2.4m creative hub in time for UK City of Culture 2021 has been completed on time and on budget by Midlands developer The Wigley Group. The company, which has its headquarters in Stockton, Warwickshire, owns Sandy Lane Business Park, where the building that will house the Daimler Powerhouse Creation Centre is located, and the refurbishment works have been carried out by its construction arm, Wigley Building and Development. The creative hub will be run by Imagineer Productions and has been funded through £1.9m from the Cultural Capital Investment Fund from Coventry City Council and the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Deal. The site will include a sound recording studio and edit suite, and a newly installed sprung dance floor and vertical dance wall. The Powerhouse building is the only remaining part of the original Daimler factory where the first Daimler car was built in 1897 - the rest of the factory, a disused cotton mill, was destroyed during Second
World War bombing. The first Daimler was a Panhard engined vehicle, but Coventryengined cars soon followed, and by mid-1897 the factory was building three vehicles a week. The factory’s transformation is the first phase of the wider regeneration of the seven-acre site on Sandy Lane in north Coventry, with phase two being a new residential-led, mixed-use development, subject to planning permission.
‘Plans to create a vibrant new neighbourhood for living and work, culture and leisure’ Wigley managing director James Davies said: “Imagineer has been based at our Sandy Lane site for many years and we have been working with them on plans for a creative hub for a considerable amount of time, so it’s great to see it almost ready to open. “It has been a joint project with a number of partners to create a cultural legacy on a site of great historical importance to the city and we look forward to seeing how
it can develop the talents of existing and emerging artists and creatives well beyond this important year for Coventry as UK City of Culture. “The Powerhouse is of course the first phase of the wider regeneration of the industrial estate and in the coming weeks we will be bringing forward detailed proposals for phase two of our plans to create a vibrant new neighbourhood for living and work, culture and leisure.” Chenine Bhathena, creative director of Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “This new creation centre in the heart of the Coventry Canal’s creative corridor will be a laboratory for new artistic innovation.” As well as providing a home for Imagineer’s innovative education and training programmes aimed at young people and people with disabilities, the Daimler Powerhouse will also be home to five resident companies, Imagineer, Highly Sprung, Media Mania, Open Theatre and Talking Birds. Daimler Powerhouse will open to the public in August as part of Coventry’s UK City of Culture Programme with a weekend of special events, performances and opportunities to visit the building.
Sector Focus PureSan system is always on A new ground-breaking ‘always-on’ room sanitiser system has been launched to help businesses create a clinically clean indoor environment. The device will prevent the transmission of harmful viruses and bacteria, including coronavirus, says its maker, Bangor-based PureSan. The room sanitiser system uses innovative atomising technology to continuously eradicate viruses, bacteria and fungi from the air and on all surfaces within an indoor environment. The system produces a micro mist that produces no harmful by-products and is approved for use on food contact surfaces. Each system is programmed to operate over a particular timescale, and at a certain frequency at which it emits the sanitiser solution. It also reports on when it requires a refill. It is designed to operate in many commercial environments, including dental practices, large office spaces and schools, and can create a clinically clean indoor area within just two to 24 hours. Peter Barnes, product director of PureSan, explained: “The new PureSan room sanitiser system is a truly ground-breaking solution that will help businesses across the country protect both staff and customers as lockdown measures continue to ease. “Its ability to create an ‘always clinically clean’ indoor environment creates peace of mind and is demonstrated by independent lab test results, which showcase the efficacy of the product when in constant use. “For example, when tested in a busy dental practice and 350-seat contact centre, PureSan successfully eradicated all viruses, bacteria and fungi within a 24-hour period despite continuous use of the space by staff. “Therefore, as public facing businesses re-open and increasing numbers of people start to socialise within indoor environments, PureSan not only keeps people safe and in work, but also prevents the cost of staff absenteeism due to sickness and the cost of manual sanitisation.”
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