Blyth cultural venue and Market Place win planning approval
Our plans for a cultural venue and improvements to Blyth's Market Place have been granted planning approval by Northumberland County Council.
The project includes three independent cinema screens, a 120-seat studio space for live comedy, music, theatre and community events, a creative and developmental play facility, a smaller, multi-purpose studio and a café.
Situated on Blyth’s historic Market Place, the proposals will provide landscape improvements to create green space, new seating areas, improved provision for market traders, play facilities and flexible street furniture for events and performances. The project also includes the refurbishment of existing public toilets and landscape enhancements to the remembrance garden next to St. Mary’s Church.
The venue will be part of a £90 million wider regeneration programme, ‘Energising Blyth’, aiming to provide new cultural, education, leisure and residential projects in the town centre, around the revived Market Place, while boosting the growth of Blyth’s renewable energy industry
Our design is arranged in a simple, double-gable form, with recessed and projecting patterns of red brick and masonry details in a complimentary red tone. Developed through extensive consultation with the local community and market traders, the building is designed to open itself up to Blyth; glazed sliding doors to both studios can be opened, allowing people and events to spill out into the marketplace.
'Our approach to the project has evolved from collaborative conversations with local people about how to celebrate Blyth’s sense of identity, referencing the town’s heritage while embracing the innovative spirit of its renewable and low carbon industries. The venue’s form and layout are welcoming, with a strong relationship to the marketplace and generous public realm. Alongside affordable, independent cinema at the heart of the building, this will be a social place to host events and celebrations, to play, to see local art and live music, or to meet over food and drinks.'
- Tania Love, Associate Partner
Construction of the venue and improvements to the marketplace will begin later this summer.