Improvements to Colonnade House worth around £550,000 have been approved by Worthing Borough Council.
The funding was largely granted by the Arts Council England with £508,000 from its Capital Improvement Round 2 Fund, with Worthing Borough Council contributing £46,000.
Colonnade House, at 47 Warwick Street, Worthing, is owned by the council and operates as a ‘creative hub’ for the town, managed in partnership with the Adur & Worthing Trust.
The improvements include roof repairs, installing solar panels, installing triple-glazed windows, replacing existing lighting with LEDs, and replacing the current entrance with a more accessible one. A ground source heat pump will be installed to replace existing heating systems, with hopes of connecting to the council’s Worthing Heat Network.
The exterior will also be redesigned to include green space, collaborative space, a compositing area and ‘carbon catching’ painted decor.
Funding was unanimously approved by the council’s cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday, June 11. Cabinet member for culture, leisure and wellbeing Rita Garner (Lab, Tarring) said the granting of the Arts Council funding would help achieve the council’s net zero targets and improve accessibility to the building.
She said: “Colonnade House has proven itself as a cultural hub and incubator for success in the last eight years. It is important to the development of this sector in the town, that is increasingly enhancing our reputation as a town. The achievement of this grant not only makes these improvements possible but signals Arts Council England’s recognition of our role along the Sussex coast.”
