Future Workspace Fund
Lambeth Council’s Future Workspace Fund is an £8m by-application loan and grant capital fund to increase the provision of affordable and supportive workspaces. The source of funding comes from CIL and S106 developer contributions.
The Future Workspace Fund aims to grow innovation-led sectors in Lambeth and deliver outstanding economic return and social value for residents.
Through the Fund, we are making loan and grant investments to workspace providers to grow sectoral clusters and enhance affordable and supportive workspace in the borough.
The Future Workspace Fund builds on the council’s award-winning approach to creating a workspace that helps new and existing businesses to thrive and grow – from Granby Space and Build Studios in Waterloo to Tripod, Pop Brixton and the award-winning International House in the Brixton Creative Enterprise Zone.
The fund has three key objectives:
- to stimulate high-value cluster growth and inward investment in innovation-led sectors;
- to support Covid-19 recovery by helping existing businesses to survive, adapt and thrive in the new economy; and,
- to attract and generate business growth, jobs, employment pathways (focusing on black, young and disabled residents) and training and apprenticeship opportunities for residents.
WHAT WE FUNDED IN THE FIRST ROUND
The first round of the Future Workspace fund was open for applications in late 2020.
Through this first round, we invested just over £2 million into four projects which are growing, enhancing and safeguarding affordable workspace across Lambeth. The first round investments unlocked £6.9 million of match funding and are forecast to benefit 258 businesses each year and support 960 jobs across 69,000 sq ft of new or improved workspace.
The first round of funded projects are:
Sustainable Workspaces – who are bringing forward new sustainable, dedicated workspace at the iconic County Hall to create Europe’s largest low-carbon cluster.
Ten87 Studios – a music studio provider creating 30 studio spaces for producers and artists in the basement of the new Brixton House Theatre development.
198 Contemporary Arts and Learning – supporting the extension and fit out of 198 CAL’s historic space at 198 Railton Road, creating two new floors to provide larger gallery space, workspace, and an education floor supporting young people and adult learning programmes.
Artists Studio Company – enabling Artist Studio Company to acquire and improve their property at 47c Streatham Hill, meaning that studio space for 59 artists are safeguarded at truly affordable rents.
WHAT WE FUNDED IN THE SECOND ROUND
The second round of the Future Workspace Fund, open for applications from March 21 to May 31, 2022, made significant investments totalling just over £1,700,000 in seven projects. These investments aimed to enhance affordable and supportive workspace in Lambeth further, focusing on supporting innovation-led sectors and driving economic growth in the borough.
The second round of funded projects are:
Raw Material Music & Media – a diverse-led creative arts and music centre for young people and adults in Brixton Creative Enterprise Zone.
Photofusion – a leading home for socially engaged photographers and community-focused photography education, championing the careers of people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Rambert – the UK’s leading contemporary dance company. We are funding the first dedicated dance sector affordable co-working space in London.
The Old Vic – an independent creative powerhouse for entertainment and education, enabling anyone to experience, make and benefit from theatre.
Mud Gang – a female-led social enterprise with a mission to make ceramics-based entrepreneurship, education, and skills accessible to everyone.
IF_DO – a concept development project to bring vacant land to life using a demountable and flexible modular building concept across Lambeth.
Spiral Skills and Meanwhile Space – co-designing a vision for a young person’s enterprise programme centred around a new workspace hub.
These investments reflected the fund’s commitment to supporting innovation-led growth sectors, including creative and digital industries, health and life sciences, and the green and net-zero economy. By funding these projects, the Future Workspace Fund aimed to stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities, and improve access to affordable workspace for Lambeth residents, focusing strongly on inclusivity and sustainability.
As of the second round of funding, the fund had achieved substantial progress towards its goals, with investments spanning various geographic areas across the borough, contributing to the overall economic resilience and growth of Lambeth.