Mayor expands Creative Enterprise Zones across the capital

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the expansion of his creative enterprise zones programme with an investment of £800,000 to support thousands of jobs and create affordable studio space across the capital.

Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing are to become the Mayor’s latest Creative Enterprise Zones, joining Croydon, Haringey, Hounslow, Lambeth, Lewisham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, as well as Waltham Forest which is creating a new zone.

All of the zones are to receive a share of £800,000 which will help support 5,000 young Londoners to enter the creative sector and create more than 25,000 sqm of new, permanent, affordable workspace for the sector by 2025.

The Mayor launched his creative enterprise zones programme in 2018 and has invested £14m to help areas across the capital to support artists and creative businesses find permanent affordable space to work, provide support to new creative businesses and improve access to creative sector skills and employment.

In the new zones, young Londoners will be supported to embark on creative careers through information and advice, work experience, practical training. The zones will also create new permanent, affordable artist studios and creative spaces in the community.

The Hammersmith & Fulham zone will establish a brand-new ‘Made in Hammersmith and Fulham’ hub, utilising a vacant high street shop to support creative entrepreneurs, makers and businesses with support, skills and training.

The Ealing zone, in partnership with Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, will help increase creative employment opportunities across the borough, through working with young people and local businesses.  In addition, 30 local creatives will benefit from a small grants programme to develop community spaces, through murals, and public art installations.

Waltham Forest has been awarded £70,000 to fund a zone at Blackhorse Lane. It will establish a hub for creative skills and training, building connections between the local education and business communities and boosting local creative talent.

The next round of funding to find the next three zones is now open and will fulfil the Mayor’s original pledge to establish 12 zones. The Mayor is inviting London boroughs to come forward with their ideas for new zones across the capital.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said, “our creative enterprise zones are creating much-needed affordable workspace, jobs, new businesses and opportunities for young people at a time when the creative industries need our support.