A £6.9million Creative Land Trust scheme for Margate has had its business case approved by government.
The Creative Land Trust is one of the projects put forward as part of the £22million Margate Town Deal. It will take on underused or empty properties through outright purchase of freehold properties or long leases, or through properties gifted or transferred to the Trust by public or private partners.
These will be used as affordable commercial space for creative industries and support services. Thanet council says the Trust will be bringing empty properties back into use, generating investment in the town centre and creating jobs and training opportunities.
Margate’s Creative Land Trust will support creatives including design, music, publishing, architecture, film and video, crafts, visual arts, fashion, TV and radio, advertising, literature, computer games and the performing arts.
The project is the first business case to be approved for the Margate Town Deal.
Margate was one of 101 places given the opportunity in 2019 to bid for funding of up to £25 million as part of the government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund. The fund aims to support urban regeneration, skills development and improved connectivity by giving each place its own Town Deal.
The successful of the bid was announced as part of the Government’s Town Deal programme in the Chancellor’s Budget in March last year.
WorkWild Ltd and PRD Ltd were commissioned by the Margate Town Deal Board to help set-up the Creative Land Trust and to draft the business case. Work includes the development of governance arrangement and all the other requirements for a new entity, including setting it up as a charitable company and putting together a Board of Trustees. The Creative Land Trust will be independent and will appoint a Board.
A Thanet council statement says: “Since receiving project sign-off, we have submitted an application to the Charity Commission to set up the Margate Creative Land Trust (MCLT) as a charity.
“The aim of the Trust is to support and grow a wide range of creative practices and ensure that many more local people have opportunities to participate in the arts.
“The team at WorkWild, which is working with the council to set-up the Trust, put out a competitive tender to develop a project website and logo last month. They received 14 submissions and a Margate based web designer, Kate Williamson, was selected.
“We are delighted to say that the MCLT website is now live and the next job is to look for Trustees.
“If you’re passionate about securing Margate’s creative economy and ensuring more people have opportunities in the creative industries then this is the opportunity for you.
“As a Trustee, you will provide ongoing strategic direction and critical challenge to ensure the Creative Land Trust has the biggest impact possible.”
For more information, go to https://margatecreativelandtrust.org/#trustees. The deadline to apply is Monday 4 April and interviews will take place on 11 and 12 April.
The Margate Town Deal team aims to submit the business cases for the remaining projects next month.
