Art hub plans for School of Arts site
LOUGHBOROUGH University’s former School of the Arts building looks set to be transformed into a hub for artists, creatives and designers after plans were submitted to Charnwood Borough Council.
Generator Loughborough Community Interest Company is seeking planning permission from the authority to convert the building in Frederick Street into “a communityaccessible creative sector destination in the town centre”.
Documents submitted with the application state: “The building will operate as a centre for creative engagement, including training local people and as a location for established businesses, start-ups and individuals to run, develop and collaborate on activities across the creative industries.
“The Generator will provide offices, co-working space, hot desks and workshops, meeting rooms, gallery space and a communal restaurant.
“The building will be accessed by a range of businesses, groups and individuals, and will have both open and controlled access through tenancy agreements and subscriptions.”
The application states that no external or internal structural works will be carried out during the transformation.
The proposed use will utilise all four floors of the building, and will include the annexe in which diesel generators were formerly housed.
The significance of the building to Loughborough town centre is also noted in the application.
It states: “The Generator is a fine piece of interwar architecture, created at a time when engineering and practical trades were not seen as unclean or menial undertakings, as they often are today, but as the very source of progress.
“The loss of an active everyday use is gradually leading to the decline and deterioration of this fine local landmark.”
For more information on the Generator Loughborough Community Interest Company, visit www. generatorloughborough.com