18 Dec Booming creative and digital cluster in Lewisham wins their bid to become one of London’s first-ever Creative Enterprise Zones
The borough’s creative and digital industry has grown by an incredible 71 per cent in the last five years – twice as fast as London’s average. It will now be designated on the London Plan as a Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ) and receive additional funding and leverage support to further this impressive growth.
Earlier this year, the Mayor’s office allocated 10 CEZ development grant funding to successful boroughs, including Lewisham, who demonstrated impressive plans to test the feasibility of setting up CEZs in their boroughs.
Lewisham’s detailed work, including commissioning a study from Regeneris Consulting, We Made That, and Tom Fleming Consultancy; help tailored plans to create a CEZ in Deptford and New Cross where artists, creative and digital talent can thrive. This area was targeted as, anchored by Goldsmiths University London, Trinity Laban and The Albany; it has an array of distinctive cultural and creative assets stretching across all art-forms and converging commercial, grassroots and social outcomes. It is also a creative business hub combining arts, technology, socially- engaged creative practice, and world-leading research and teaching.
The research study found that: “Lewisham is an emerging growth borough for the Creative and Digital Industry sector. The sector is growing at a rapid rate with +71 per cent employment growth over the last five years, faster than the capital as a whole at 34 per cent. The mix of creative and digital activity in Lewisham provides a unique ecosystem, influenced by the assets and history of the borough. Lewisham’s CDI performs as a leader in the field where the creative and digital sectors overlaps. The catalyst for growth is Deptford and New Cross, areas in Lewisham with great potential to contribute to the CDI sector in London.”
It added that major mixed-use regeneration is providing affordable housing along with modern purpose-built office, creative studios and workshop spaces within easy reach of central London, at half the cost. Key business sectors include design, digital, IT, computing, virtual reality, augmented reality, advertising, fashion manufacturing, performing and visual arts.
Lewisham Council led a successful joint application with a consortium made up of Goldsmiths University, Trinity Laban, The Albany, Second Floor Studios, Studio Raw and Lewisham Education Arts Network; for a stage 2 CEZ development grant to set up and work with other organisations to deliver the CEZ action plan objectives to:
· position Lewisham’s creative industries at the forefront of CDI growth in London
· re-adopt and re-shape Lewisham’s creative identity
· develop dynamic local business networks and clusters
· ensure space is available for creative production and CDI growth
· refresh local plan policies and strategies to be creative-sector friendly
· support talent to enable CDI growth through enterprise and skills training building on FE/HE provisions.
To find out more about Lewisham’s CDI sector, please visit https://www.SHAPESLewisham.co.uk.