Category: Glossop Creates

Bringing Together Glossop’s Creatives

Posted on by Duncan Wright

Glossop is home to some amazing creative talent in a broad spectrum of disciplines from food and drink, through musicians and artists to those who make their living delivering creative services like marketing, design, photography, videography, copywriting and the like.

The need for Collaboration

One factor that is common across these sectors is the need to work collaboratively, and to engage with other like-minded people.

Most of the creatives in the town are working on their own or in small groups focused on a specific goal but, to be most effective, we need to come together. To share ideas, to create partnerships to tackle bigger project, or simply to share contacts and expertise.

In the fullness of time our vision is that Glossop will have spaces that facilitate this co-working and collaboration, including the development of an Arts Centre in Victoria Hall and the creation of co-working and creative space within the Market/Town Hall complex. However that’s the future, and spaces like that will succeed if there is a strong and thriving creative population within the town.

For this reason we are already working to create this collaboration through the creation of networking groups.

  1. Glossop Creates Food and Drink
  2. Glossop Creates Artists
  3. Glossop Creates Music and Entertainment
  4. Glossop Creates Commercial Creatives

Whilst networking and collaborating has been challenging over the last 12 months, we have still managed to move things forward using virtual meeting places like Google Meets and Zoom. As a result, three of these groups (Food & Drink, Musicians & Commercial Creatives) are already off the ground, with plans to launch the Artists group imminently.

As restrictions start to relax, as hopefully they will over the next few months, we can start to meet physically to build on the relationships that have started to form online.

Purpose

Through Glossop Creates, the Glossop Creative Trust aims to bring people together to raise aspirations, enable them to think bigger and be more ambitious. This philosophy was demonstrated perfectly recently when we had the opportunity to submit a seven figure bid to the UK Community Renewal Fund.

By harnessing the passion of the local creative community and joining this up with the skills of placemaking professional Claire Tymon, we were able to create a strong bid to the fund, aimed at the development of Cultural and Artistic activities in the town and beyond, as a catalyst for the town’s economic recovery as we emerge from COVID. All of this was made possible because of our fantastic links with High Peak Borough Council who facilitated & endorsed the whole process.

The bid encompasses a diverse range of ideas including:

  • Developing innovative and original public art installations
  • Developing existing and launching new cultural festivals
  • Exploring and piloting new ways to use heritage assets in a sustainable manner to create facilities for local creatives
  • Supporting and encouraging local arts organisations to grow and develop

Without the collaboration that was started through the Glossop Creates networks, a bid like this would not have been possible. Furthermore, the fact that we had already started to build these relationships meant that we could pull it all together within a very tight deadline of just a couple of weeks. A process that true demonstrated the power of collaboration. A Collaboration that will benefit the entire creative community in the town and beyond.

How to get involved

Whether or not the bid is successful, and we will be talking more about it over the coming weeks, the process of working on it has brought us together and made us more ambitious as to what can be achieved. As such it has demonstrated perfectly the vision and objectives of the Glossop Creative Trust.

If you would like to get involved and join one of our networks, we would love to hear from you. Simply click here, and sign up as a member or supporter of the Trust, or simply email hello@glossopcreates.com. It would also be great if you could tell us a little bit about yourself, and what you do. We would be delighted to hear from you and to welcome you into the network.

 

Victoria Hall – The Jewel in Glossop’s Crown?

Posted on by Duncan Wright

Last Month I posted an update on the Town Hall project, and how it fitted in to our wider vision for Glossop. This month I turn the focus to Victoria Hall, the second of Glossop’s significant public buildings.

But before I do, I just want to handle an elephant in the room (For me at least). Why all this talk of buildings, when our vision for Glossop is about the supporting and developing  a vibrant creative ecosystem within the town. As a Zoologist (OK its a stretch, but I do have a degree in Zoology!) I know that to thrive, an ecosystem needs a habitat and the halls form a key part of of that ecosystem. Whilst our primary vision is the community itself, our aim is that halls like Victoria Hall become the beating heart of that community.

Why is Victoria Hall key?

It was built and given to a charitable trust for the benefit of the people of Glossop as an arts and community venue, and has been used as such for over 100 years before closing a few years ago. In property circles, they say the top three priorities are Location Location Location! Happily the Hall is not far from the town centre, has a small car park which is part of that landholding (on the opposite side of Fauvel Road) and that will ultimately transfer to the prospective new charity to take an asset transfer of the building from High Peak BC in due course. Further, the project is assured of being able to use a large area of land very close by for parking when larger events take place there. On this measure, as a performance venue Victoria Hall is well placed. And it has amazing spaces within as all who have visited and inspected it know. And while it is in a relatively quiet residential area it has the scope to become a community activity focus for all those who do and will be living there.

It is a key community asset as well as being a valued historic Listed Building which many are concerned to see preserved and given a sustainable long term use. It provides a purpose built, substantial performance venue with the potential to house a 250 seater performance venue alongside associated arts facilities like rehearsal and workshop rooms, exhibition space and meeting rooms. It also has a dedicated group of individuals focused on bringing this vision to reality. Nowhere else in the town has this potential, so Victoria Hall is key building and has the potential to be The Jewel in Glossop’s Crown.”

The Challenge of Community Arts Projects

Despite being a key component of our vision, on its own running Victoria Hall as an arts centre has some financial challenges. They are clearly set out in the major Feasibility Study commissioned in 2018. It’s a well-known fact that making regional arts venues financially viability is indeed a challenge. Whilst grants can go some way to mitigating this, the plan is to consider Victoria Hall, and other Arts/Community assets in the town as part of a bigger picture. A picture that includes more commercial aspects like the Town Hall, Market Hall and commercial / creative workspace in the town centre. The Victoria Arts Centre team have always recognised that some form of additional external income will be crucial to their project and seek a form of “cross subsidy” from other income generating sources. Happily High Peak BC are aware and accepting of this critical need.

By creating an environment of co-management and cross subsidy between venues and the more commercial assets, there is a much better chance of balancing the books. But this is far from being a one way relationship with commercial assets supporting community and arts assets. In reality the relationship between the two sites will be far more symbiotic as the buzz and interest created by venues like Victoria Hall and associated activities including spin off performances and exhibitions in the town centre complex and around the town create a much more attractive proposition for those interested in living or doing business in Glossop. Together they therefore make a major potential contribution to the attractiveness of this town as a place both to live and run businesses and the positive growth of the local economy.

So What about the Next 12 Months

In my last post, I talked about Glossop Creates. Our initiative is to support and grow the arts and hospitality sectors in the town as we come out of Covid-19 restrictions.

At its heart, Glossop Creates is about community. But community needs to meet. Whilst this is not possible at the moment due to restrictions on gatherings, our hope and expectation is that over the next 6-12 months, these restrictions will lift, and gatherings will become possible again. When this does happen Victoria Hall represents the perfect venue. It is light and airy and has the space to host gatherings without the need to pack people in! Thus, it is the perfect venue in these times. We anticipate that whilst the restrictions have meant a slow start for Glossop Creates over the last 6 months, we have some exciting activities planned over the next six months, both at the Victoria Hall and around the town so be sure to connect with us on Social Media, or sign up as a supporter or Member, and we will be sure to keep you posted on all our activities.”

Furthermore, if you would like to sign up as a friend of Victoria Hall, let us know and we would be happy to put you in touch.

Bright Future for Glossop’s Halls

Posted on by Duncan Wright

Anyone who has followed the story of the Glossop Creative Trust over the last 10 years, will know that we have always had an interest in the future of the public halls in the town. Whilst its been slow progress at times, things are moving forward with community focussed plans for both Victoria Hall (More of that in a future post) and the Town Hall complex both building momentum.

Town Hall Project Funding

The Town Hall project had a major boots recently when D2N2 confirmed £2m funding for the project as part of their Getting Building Fund. The cash that comes on the back of recent investment in the building by HPBC to repair the Town Hall roof, and current work to improve the Market Hall, paves the way to bringing the complex fully back into use with the community at its heart.

The work on the project over the least 10 years by High Peak Borough Council in partnership with the Trust, meant that it was pretty much “spade ready” and a perfect candidate for a bid to the fund.

A vision for the Future

So now that this funding is secured, what next for the Town Hall complex buildings?

For me the project has never been about the buildings. But rather about what part the buildings can play in the economic life of the town.

Glossop currently lacks a focal point! There is so much creative talent in the town; Artists, Writers, Musicians, Performers, Designers…. The list goes on. But this talent is hidden & dispersed across the town. My vision, and that of the Trust is that these buildings, along with Victoria Hall, create this focus. Providing a destination where people can come to enjoy the creativity of the town.

To this end, we have been working with placemaking consultant Claire Tymon to communicate our vision for the development. That it become:

A new cultural and social hub in Glossop town centre. providing space for conversation, collaboration and creativity. It will encourage a “have a go” attitude, welcoming independent businesses to have a place to test ideas and grow.

Furthermore, it will provide the local community and visitors with a new indoor market and a range of diverse spaces for work, events, exhibitions and
entertainment. 

It is this vision that we are currently working with High Peak Borough Council to bring about through development of the Town Hall complex on the back of the D2N2 Funding.

The Next Steps

So how are we planning to turn this vision into a reality? The answer to this lies in the two strands of our activity at the moment:

Strand 1 – Partnership with HPBC to deliver the Town Hall project

With a deadline for completion of Summer 2022 the project to develop the Town Hall complex is an ambitious one. Our objective in this area is to work with  High Peak Borough Council to ensure that the project delivers on our shared vision and it has the buy in and support of both the creative & wider communities in the town. To achieve this, are sitting with senior members of the project team on a subgroup focussing on the ultimate use of the buildings, and ensuring that practical aspects of the development support the vision for the complex as a

“A new cultural and social hub in Glossop town centre”

Strand 2 – Glossop Creates

Glossop Creates is an initiative that we launched towards the end of 2020 which aims to support and encourage creative business & individuals within the town. The initiative, spearheaded by Clair Tymon and Stephen Dexter, is supported financially through grants from both High Peak Borough Council and Arts Council England.

Through Glossop Creates, we will be engaging in a series of activities over the coming months including:

  • Hosting virtual networking events for business & individuals involved in food & beverage, music and arts & creative
  • Hosting on-line makers markets showcasing local businesses & talent
  • Establishing a mentoring programme to aspiring local creatives
  • Micro commissions to local artists to provoke peoples thinking about their response to the current situation and inspiring different generations to connect with the town
  • Developing an “Urban Room” to help people make a connection with the town in which they live, and to inspire thought about the future.

Through this activity, we are looking to stimulate creativity within the town and to build momentum within the creative community that will inform support and stimulate the discussions and activities around the development of the halls as they come to fruition.

2021 is lining up to be a busy and exciting time for the Glossop Creative Trust, so be sure to sign up as a member or supporter and we will be sure to keep you posted.

Working closely with HPBC for Glossop’s Creative Future

Posted on by Duncan Wright

Before the world changed on 23rd March 2020, The Glossop Creative Trust, through the Glossop Creates movement, had started to build momentum around developing a name for the town as a hotbed of culture & creativity. With much focus on the Food Beverage and Hospitality industries, and with plans to start regular food and drink events through June, July and August, it was set to be an exciting summer.

But then in mid March, the national lockdown caused the country to hit pause, all our plans had to be put on hold and the burgeoning hospitality businesses in the town with whom we were building relationships were thrown into chaos.

But non of that is new. So what of the future?

Working behind the scenes

Whilst we have had to delay our front line activities, we have not been idle. Working behind the scenes, we have cemented our already positive relationship with the High Peak Borough Council (HPBC), who we recognised would be key to bringing our vision to reality.

As a result we have now signed a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), meaning that we are now recognised by the Local Authority as “the community strategic lead organisation for the development of Glossop as a creative hub” and furthermore now have an agreement to share resources and information as we develop a common strategy for developing the creative industries with the area.

In addition to the MOU, we are also working on converting the Glossop Creative Trust into a Community Interest Company (CIC) to better reflect our objectives in the town, but more of that in a future post, so watch this space!

Resources to Build the Partnership

Along side the MOU, the partnership brings resources, with HPBC also awarding the Trust a grant of £15,000 to start to put plans into action. Resources which will in part, be used to secure the professional services of Claire Tymon. A resident of Hadfield, Claire has a great track record of delivering the type of project we are building in Glossop and brings with her some first class contacts like world renowned designer Wayne Hemingway, with whom Claire has worked on previous projects.

Claire has some great ideas and works on the project with a passion that only a local could exhibit. Having engaged consultants on this type of project in the past, working with Claire is a pleasure. She is in a class of her own. Furthermore, I fully expect that we will be able to use Claire’s ideas & skills to deliver further investment into the town helping us to bring our vision to a reality.

Big plans for the future

These are exciting times for towns like Glossop, which recently received a rave review as a foodie hub in the Manchester Evening News, though I am not sure about the “Sleepy Town” epithet! And which this month has received an in principal agreement by the D2N2 LEP to invest over £2m to the redevelopment of the Town Hall complex in line with our vision.  Our hope is that our work with HPBC over the next few weeks to finalise the business case, will secure this funding for the town.

There has also been a shift in working practices, driven by the fact that we have all had to change the way we work over the last few months. A shift which means that people are working more flexibly, with a desire to work closer to home rather than endure the daily commute into Manchester.

Together these come together to offer significant opportunities for the town.

As Thom Hetherington, Glossop’s resident foodie succinctly put it

“I think this is a rare situation where the wind of government priorities and societal changes are all blowing strongly in Glossop’s direction, and we have one chance to crystallise that, locking it in for a generation or more.”

These may be challenging times, but as the dust settles I think Glossop will come out stronger and has a bright future.

If you want to keep up to speed on our activities, or want to get involved, you can do so here.

 

We need your input

Posted on by Duncan Wright

Glossop Creative Trust has recently secured a 5-year agreement with High Peak Borough Council to work in partnership on the future development opportunities for the town and neighbouring areas.

As part of our ambition to develop a creative and holistic approach to placemaking for the town, and support the sector at this challenging time, we are researching the types and needs of individuals and businesses operating in the creative, digital and cultural sector who work and/or live in Glossop.

Our research takes in a 6 mile radius of the town centre including neighbouring villages and towns – Hayfield, Broadbottom, Mottram, Stalybridge and Tintwistle.

We would really appreciate it if you can spare 20 minutes to complete our survey to help inform our future work and priorities.

 

Click here to complete the survey

The deadline for completing the survey is Monday 31st August.

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