Derelict Georgian building to be reborn as £4.7m arts centre

Published 28/11/2022 · Updated 28/11/2022

A derelict Georgian building in Northampton will undergo a GBP4.7 million renovation. NN Contemporary Art, in partnership with West Northamptonshire Council, has revealed a plan for a major new cultural centre at 24 Guildhall Road. In the heart of Northampton’s cultural quarter, the GBP4.7 million project is about to enter its second stage of works and will see the five-storey building transformed.

It will house a contemporary art gallery, ‘affordable’ creative studios and public spaces. With a phased opening set for late 2023 / early 2024, the 2000 sq. metre Georgian building will become the new home of lead tenant and founding partner NN Contemporary Art (NNCA). They will take over the lower three floors, opening a free public gallery space that will showcase the very best of international contemporary art.

With a focus on nurturing the town’s creative ecosystem, the floors will also encompass 20 affordable creative workspaces and studios, enabling hundreds of artists and creators to grow and develop their practice in the town. READ MORE: NHS nurses’ strike dates announced for week before Christmas but Northampton General not affected Designed to become a major creative hub for Northampton and the wider East Midlands region, the fully-accessible building will also incorporate multi-functional “community and event” spaces – including a civic reading room and arts library, a retail space and multimedia lab.

Emer Grant, CEO and Artistic Director, NN Contemporary Art, said the development would benefit the community. She said: “We are delighted to be announcing the next stage of our relocation and renovation project at 24 Guildhall Road. “Working alongside partners we aim to bring a new kind of cultural institution to Northamptonshire.

Our approach throughout has tried to expand the terms of collaboration (and municipal process alike) as integral to the design of the 21st-century public realm. “Phase two of this capital project will continue to develop civic spaces to an environmentally sustainable and culturally ambitious outcome with the aim to open in late 2023. The completion of 24 Guildhall Road will bring exciting benefits to our local community and recognises the pivotal role of contemporary art in shaping extraordinary places.”

Further creative and cultural tenants will be invited to lease the upper two floors. Taking inspiration from its original 1920s design, the plans honour the heritage of the building, seeing many of its original features restored, including the stunning terrazzo floor. Artist Giles Round has been commissioned to design the Civic Reading Room Space with the GBP4.7 million project supported by the government’s Towns Fund and part of the Northampton Town Centre Masterplan.

Alongside Towns Fund investment, phase one of the project has delivered GBP1.15 million through South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership’s Getting Building Fund.

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