Cornwall's Tate St Ives gallery has been given almost £4 million from the Coastal Communities Fund for its Phase 2
The Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) has awarded Tate St Ives £3.87 million pounds towards the refurbishment and expansion of the gallery, in recognition of the wider economic impact the Tate St Ives Phase 2 project will have on the regional economy. The project will support the cultural and tourist profile of Cornwall and the south west through the delivery of new exhibition, learning and visitor spaces, creating an experience which will attract more visitors to St Ives and Cornwall.
As a result of the Coastal Communities investment, Tate St Ives will be able to progress with a project that will benefit St Ives and the region, through the generation of an additional £87m for the local economy, in the ten year period after completion, creating and safeguarding 266 indirect tourism jobs.
This is fantastic news,' says Mark Osterfield, Executive Director of Tate St Ives. 'The Coastal Communities Fund is helping us to deliver the transformation of our iconic gallery over the next two years. Once refurbished and extended Tate St Ives will attract more visitors, and generate an additional £87million in the local economy over the following ten years. This will not only safeguard existing jobs but also generate an additional 198 jobs in the wider jobs market.'
The Tate St Ives project began at the end of January 2014. So far, it has delivered an improved entrance and the Studio Resource Room. Currently, there is excavation work taking place on the site of the new extension. Construction will begin this spring for a gallery opening in 2017.
The Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) aims to encourage the economic development of UK coastal communities by awarding funding to create sustainable economic growth and jobs.
What are the benefits of Tate St Ives Phase 2?
Improve gallery capacity to meet visitors’ needs, especially at peak times.
Providing additional gallery space so that TSI meets its remit to display the St Ives Modernists, international contemporary art, and more works from Tate’s Collection all year round, guaranteeing a strong and consistent visitor message and appeal.
Increasing gallery opening by six weeks every year.
The iconic and architecturally significant TSI building will have been enhanced so that residents and visitors can enjoy it all year round. TSI will be able to offer partners and community organisations access to flexible facilities which will enable them to use and benefit from this key part of their public realm.
Cornwall as a destination for cultural tourism will be enhanced and the season extended to year round, attracting an increasing number of annual visitors to St Ives (316,891visitors by 2021). Between 2017 and 2027, an additional £87,606,851 will have been brought into the local community through visitor spend at hotels, B&B, self-catering apartments, camping and caravan sites, and at local shops, cafés and other businesses within the town. This will support the generation, safeguarding and sustainability of 266.31 indirect tourism jobs in the same period.
The project will provide on-the-job training in art handling and gallery best practice for trainees, apprenticeships, volunteers, and arts and creative industries professionals and organisations in Cornwall. With enhanced capacity, improved visitor facilities, longer opening hours and more programmes, TSI will draw on Tate’s internationally recognised brand to confirm the future sustainability of Tate St Ives as an international centre of art and exchange supporting the cultural, tourism and economic profile of Cornwall and the south west.
Have a wide ranging positive impact on the creative industries, by working with partner organisations across the creative and cultural sector to support creativity, excellence and skills development in artistic practice.
Background to the Tate St Ives improvement works
2004: TSI investigates the creation of additional space and improved visitor services and learning spaces. October 2007; after extensive public consultation and research, the Tate St Ives Phase 2 partners conclude, only an extension could deliver these aims.
End of 2007: Penwith Housing Association (PHA) now Devon and Cornwall Housing (DCH), announced plans for the redevelopment of a site to the west of TSI.
January 2008: St Ives Town Council requests PHA and TSI meet and talk through the respective schemes, for any opportunities for more complementary proposals.
2009: as a result, Cornwall Council agree to support the housing redevelopment in partnership with PHA, and finance the acquisition of part of the site for TSI.
The redevelopment of Meadow Flats, adjacent to Tate St Ives, paves the way for the gallery. New flats are built at the front of the site to improve accommodation and accessibility; the extension to TSI uses the rear section of land, to the west of the gallery and below Barnoon car park.
2011-12: The project is re-scoped and an outline funding package developed. Under European Regulations this demanded a re-tender of the design team. Jamie Fobert Architects won the tender in February 2012. Evans and Shalev (the architects of the original building) are appointed to redesign and refurbish the original building.
2012: a series of public consultations take place in St Ives, facilitated by Cornwall Rural Community Council. Feedback from the public sessions is fed into the design process.
January 2013: designs are submitted for planning permission to Cornwall Council and agreed in March 2013.
January 2014: gallery closes for three months. Enabling works begin on the site of the new extension; new Learning and visitor spaces are created. Tate St Ives re-opens in May 2014 and building work stops over summer.
October 2014 to present: work on the excavation of greenstone in the site of the new extension continues.
