New Life for Former Beecroft Gallery

March 15, 2017 by Southend Borough Council

Plans to convert a former art gallery into artist studios have been given the go-ahead.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council planning officers have granted planning consent for the proposals to create 23 accessible studios for artists as well as a community gallery and workshop space at the former Beecroft Gallery in Westcliff-on-Sea.

The full plans can be viewed by searching the Council’s Planning Portal and searching reference: 16/02258/BC3

Cllr Ann Holland, Executive Councillor for Culture, Tourism and The Economy, said: “Our plans aim to breathe new life into a currently redundant building within a conservation area and see it brought back into productive use. We believe the refurbishment of the former Beecroft will support the Borough’s strong and growing arts scene, which is demanding this sort of facility in order to flourish.

“However, it is still early days with £500,000 needing to be raised in order to bring our ambitions to fruition. Focal Point Gallery is submitting funding bids to Arts Council England and other funding bodies to raise the money required and we are hoping that members of the local arts community will rally behind them to back the bid.”

You can show your support for this ambitious project by:

· Writing a letter to your local paper, saying why this new facility is important to you personally or to the town. We will collate published letters and use this as evidence as we progress with funding bids.

· Emailing focalpointgallery@southend.gov.uk stating why you support the plans.

Anyone who would like to express an interest in learning more at this early stage should email the gallery team at focalpointgallery@southend.gov.uk