Mayor Provides Funding for Creative Space at Chiswick House

Will provide base for up to 100 artists and makers

The plan for a Creative Campus. Picture: Chiswick House & Gardens Trust

July 31, 2023

Plans for a new creative space at Chiswick House have received a boost after a bid for a sustainability grant from the Mayor was successful.

The £180,000 grant from the Mayor’s £1.2m Creative Enterprise Zone Sustainability Capital Grant Fund will support the creation of an energy-efficient creative campus – providing a workspace for up to 100 artists and makers in the grounds of the estate.

The grant will help make key energy efficiency improvements to some of the historic heritage buildings at Chiswick House and Gardens, allowing them to be returned to community use. The green improvement works will provide new roof insulation to reduce heat losses and gains, minimising the demand for energy use. It will also fund cycle storage and showers for users.  

It was one of nine projects to make a successful bit including Hounslow Council’s Creative Enterprise West (CREW).

Creative Enterprise West is home to nearly half of London’s television broadcasting jobs and the project’s aim is to drive the global image of West London as a screen capital.

One of the CREW projects is the Cedar Yards programme will develop a collection of projects to provide spaces for community, creativity, and learning. The new spaces include a Creative Campus, Community Garden and Volunteer Welfare, and Learning Hub.  

The grant award was announced at the Mayor’s recent London Made Me event which revealed the capital’s newest Creative Enterprise Zones and the opportunity for small creative businesses in Hounslow to sell their products from a central London venue in the run up to Christmas, through the London Made Me Pop-Up Shop and Retail Training programme. 

Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of Hounslow Council, said, “This grant is a fantastic opportunity for us to bring historic buildings at a local heritage site back into community use. The Creative Campus will help us to continue to expand our network of creative workspaces and provide more support to residents wanting to build up their skills in this exciting and expanding industry.  

“Expanding access to sustainable and affordable workspaces is an integral part of our support for businesses to start, grow and thrive in the borough. Through these spaces the Council can continue to deliver and commission enterprise support that helps businesses overcome the ever-increasing challenges due to rising costs and inflation.  

“We are committed to supporting residents by improving access to good quality local jobs, in particular our young people through our Youth Skills and Employment Guarantee (YSEG) and this is another mechanism for us to achieve this ambitious goal.” 

Xanthe Arvanitakis, Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust said, "As well as caring for our Grade-I listed 18th century buildings and keeping our 65-acre gardens free to visit 365 days a year, we're passionate about supporting our Hounslow community through skills development and by creating employment opportunities.  

“Thanks to this Creative Enterprise Zone Sustainability Capital Grant Funding from the Mayor of London, we’re taking bold steps to repurpose unused and underused historic buildings and solving some of the environmental challenges to establish an ambitious new Creative Campus for up to 100 local artists, makers and artisans." 

The Creative Campus will link with other creative spaces within CREW: the Council’s first-ever affordable co-workspace Digital Dock Brentford, the creative arts market under the M4 at Boston Manor, Boston Manor House Jimmy Choo London Fashion Academy, and artists at Johnson’s Island. It will also neighbour future projects in the borough include the expansion of the Gillette Factory into nine studios, Sky campus, global media companies based at   Chiswick Business Park.