SOUTHEND RISING
Follow us on social media
  • Home
  • Latest News
    • Your News
  • About Southend
    • Getting to Southend
    • Eating and sleeping
    • Useful links
  • Gallery
  • Publicity services
    • Advertise
    • Business Booster
  • Directory
    • Accounting and financial services
    • Automotive, travel and transport services
    • Business services
    • Design and print
    • Housing services
    • Entertainment and tourism
    • Health, hair and beauty
    • Hotels and accommodation
    • Insurance and legal services
    • Media, marketing and publishing
    • Mother and baby
    • Photography
    • Recruitment services
    • Restaurants, bars and clubs
    • Retail shopping
    • Trades
  • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Terms & Conditions

Council to consider £19m expansion plans for The Forum

11/1/2018

0 Comments

 
Southend Council's cabinet are to consider budgeting £2.7m towards a four-year programme to realise ambitions to deliver the second phase of development at The Forum on Elmer Square.

The contribution would help fund a £19m expansion of The Forum - the country’s first combined academic and public library - on the area in front of the award-winning building.

The proposal is part of the council’s draft budget proposals for 2018/19 being discussed by Cabinet next week (Thursday 18 January).
Always intended as a two-phase development, it would be the second stage to the successful Forum on Elmer Square and would be a joint venture between Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and South Essex College.

The two partners have commissioned a detailed feasibility report, which considered a number of options for the development and identified an option that would provide around 5,000m2 of development space, subject to detailed design. If it secures funding and gains planning consent, the building will have a focus on digital, creative and cultural industries – an area of growth for Southend’s economy and skill base, underpinned by the Economic Growth, Tourism and Digital strategies adopted by the Council last year.

Although plans are at an early stage – and funding contributions from the College and other external parties are yet to be confirmed - it is anticipated that the Council contribution would help facilitate contemporary and community art gallery space and associated office, shop, café and project space to expand the existing gallery offer at the Forum as well as digital workspace for creative digital industries.
 
The Digital Workspace aims to deliver affordable workspace for local creative and digital businesses, provide affordable access to the latest digital arts equipment and will include co-working space, meeting pods, workstations, an editing suite and a seminar room.

For the college, the new building would house a public and teaching restaurant, performance studios, music rehearsal and performance space including computer music suites and teaching rooms increasing opportunities for students to gain skills in the sector.

Cllr Ann Holland, Executive Councillor for Culture, Tourism and The Economy, said: “Following the success of the Forum, which has attracted over 1.75m visitors since it opened in 2013, officers have begun exploring the second phase of the development with partners and funders. Discussion with partners has identified a significant need for additional and reconfigured space by South Essex College who remain committed to the project.

“The mix of accommodation would, we believe, create a vibrant and lively environment that should enhance the town’s burgeoning educational quarter and also encourage the public and students to visit and use Elmer Square more.”

Anthony McGarel, Deputy Principal and Chief Executive of South Essex College, said: “We’re extremely excited about the proposed new development. It would allow us to increase our popular Digital, Media, Music and Performing Arts offer in Southend plus provide the town with a new restaurant, benefitting students and the local communities we serve.”

The Council are still in discussions with South Essex College and external funding bodies to confirm funding contributions that would bring the project forward.

Design for the new building would need to go out to tender once funding has been confirmed. However, the partners are targeting completion of the building in advance of the academic year commencing September 2021.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Send us your news

    Please send your press releases, photos and videos to [email protected]

    RSS Feed




    Archives

    May 2022
    June 2020
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    Business
    Education And Training
    Education And Training
    Employment
    Housing
    Infrastructure
    Investment
    Leisure
    Regeneration
    Retail
    Sustainability
    Tourism
    Travel

    RSS Feed


    Southend Rising

    Promote Your Page Too
    Click to set custom HTML

Latest News

Your news



About Southend

Getting to Southend
Eating and Sleeping

Gallery
​
Useful links

Directory




PR services

Advertise​ 
​Business Booster

Jobs

Current vacancies
Advertise your vacancies

About Us

Contact Us
Terms and Conditions

© 2022 Southend Rising                                                                                                                                                                                                        Site by Amygdala Press