Future Workspace Fund
The Future Workspace Fund is Lambeth Council’s by-application loan and grant fund for affordable and supportive workspace providers across the borough.
The Future Workspace Fund’s purpose is 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 affordable and supportive 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 workspaces that help 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. Together, these projects already provide 80,000 sq. ft. of space for over 260 businesses.
The fund has three key objectives:
- to stimulate high value cluster growth and inward investment in innovation-led sectors (including creative and digital; health and life sciences and green economy)
- to support economic resilience and growth by helping all types of businesses (new and old, small and large) to survive, adapt and thrive in the new economy
- to attract and generate new business growth and new employment, self-employment, and employment pathways (with a focus on black, young, and disabled residents) that increase the diversity of business owners, workspace operators, users and community programming
WHAT WE HAVE FUNDED SO FAR
Through the first and second rounds of the Future Workspace fund, we invested just over £3.3 million into eleven projects which are growing, enhancing and safeguarding affordable workspace across Lambeth. These investments have unlocked £21 million of match funding and are forecast to benefit 665 businesses each year and support 1696 jobs across almost 77,000 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.
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.
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.
Third Round and What will be funded
Please note: the Future Workspace Fund will open for applications on Friday 11th October 2024.
The Future Workspace Fund will provide funding for capital expenditure to workspace providers that are developing new or enhancing existing affordable and supportive workspaces.
The types of workspaces that will be funded are anticipated to include:
- specialist incubators focused on an innovation-led sectors such as med tech, life sciences, green tech and services, creative and digital;
- cultural workspaces such as creative studios;
- affordable workspaces for charities and social enterprises supporting priority groups; and,
- enterprise space projects within more residential areas.
The Fund can also support concept development proposals (e.g. funding for feasibility assessments).
The Fund has a first preference for loan funding but will also consider grant investments alongside commercial funding agreements.
The following documents explain in more detail the fund and the application process, please click below to open the relevant documents:
- Third Round Prospectus (downloads Word Document)
- Third Round Application Form for Concept Development (downloads Word document in English)
- Third Round Application Form for Concept Development (downloads Word document in Portuguese)
- Third Round Application Form for Grant Loan (downloads Word Document in English)
- Third Round Application Form For Grant Loan (downloads Word document in Portuguese)
In order to ensure the council can deal with applications in a timely manner, we are only able to consider a small number of applications at any one time. This means that applications to the Fund will need to open and close periodically. Please email FutureWorkspace@lambeth.gov.uk to receive email updates on the Fund.
How to apply:
To apply, please send your fully completed Application Form alongside supporting documentation as set out in the Prospectus to futureworkspace@lambeth.gov.uk by 23:59 on Monday 16th December.