Cains Brewery to be transformed into artistic hub by Baltic Creative

Baltic Creative Community Interest Company has announced a 10-year deal that will transform 45,000 sq.ft of disused warehouses at the Cains Brewery in the Baltic Triangle, into a range of innovative spaces for artists, designer-makers and the creative industries.

The next phase dubbed ‘Northern Lights’ will include a new artist-led hub containing affordable artist studios, gallery spaces, workshop units and log burning mezzanine studios. The bespoke space will also have a central café and a large event space.

The Royal Standard, an artist-led gallery, studios and social workspace currently based in North Liverpool, will relocate as one of the main anchor tenants within the development. Commercial printers GoCre8, who are currently based in the Baltic Triangle, will also take residence.

Mark Lawler, Managing Director of Baltic Creative CIC said, “Baltic Creative CIC is committed to providing artist-led space and supporting the growth of this well established community in Liverpool. Working closely with our two fantastic anchor tenants we will create a space we can be proud of and perhaps more importantly, a space we currently don’t have available in the Baltic Triangle. It’s an exciting time for the Baltic area as it continues to grow and emerge as a great place for Creative and Digital industry businesses. Northern Lights will add further to the fantastic momentum for change that the area is currently undergoing.”

Sudarghara Dusanj, Managing Director of Cains Brewery Village said, “We are delighted that the Northern Lights scheme has got the green light. Cains Brewery Village has been granted planning permission for a one million sq.ft residential led mixed-use development. Northern Lights is the first step in our aim to create a vibrant urban village which will underpin the regeneration of the Baltic Triangle into an area thriving with creative and independent minded companies and individuals. We do, however, realise this ambition will take some time to deliver and feel that Northern Lights can, in the next 10 years, help us to achieve our overall aims and objectives for the site, whilst providing, in a climate of rising values, much needed affordable creative and artistic led space here in the Baltic Triangle.”

Baltic Creative CIC has successfully secured £310k funding from Liverpool City Region Impact Fund, which is part financed by the Social Investment Business and the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007-13, in order to deliver the refurbishment.

Caroline Forster, Director of Investments at Social Investment Business said, “We are delighted to be investing in Baltic Creative’s exciting Northern Lights development. We hope this investment will help them build on the fantastic part they have already played in supporting the growth of local Creative and Digital industries and in the regeneration of the Baltic Triangle.

Baltic Creative are a fantastic example of a local social enterprise working to regenerate Liverpool, create new jobs and support local businesses. They are precisely the type of organisation the Liverpool City Region Impact Fund was designed to support and we are happy that we can play a small part in helping them to grow.”

Works for the first phase of the Northern Light scheme are expected to commence in July 2016 and the first phase of works are due for completion in October 2016.