Cromer Artspace receives funding to renovate community space

Cromer’s popular Artspace on the Prom will be given a new lease of life, including lighting and heating, meaning art-lovers can enjoy exhibitions and activities later and longer.

Cromer Artspace are pleased to announce they have been awarded funding of £65,000 from Ørsted (Hornsea 3 Community Benefit Fund) and the North Norfolk Rural Business & Community Grant (NNBRG) to renovate the space this winter. 

This is the latest stage in a long journey for the building. Built in the 1930s, Artspace on the Prom’s Art Deco building is a testament to the resilience of the town. The space has served the community and visitors for nearly 100 years with its selection of beach huts, cafe, and public conveniences.  Following a period of underuse after the damage from the 2013 tidal surge, Cromer Artspace have been working in the building, bringing an amazing range of contemporary art to Cromer over the last three summers. 

Thanks to the funding, work has already started to renovate the interior of the Artspace on the Prom in Cromer, includinginternal damp reduction, insulation, new gallery lighting and heating, bringing the gallery into its next leg of its journey, enabling a greater range of art and art-based activities, lengthening the time the building can be used into evenings and into the winter.  The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Despite the previous poor state of the building, which was cold and wet limiting the use of the space outside the summer months, the community have really got behind the space.  One Artspace visitor said: “It is a great asset for the town. Bringing a mixture of different art styles to the Artspace, of exhibitions that are both multi-artist and sole-artist. I really appreciate the Artspace and attend for every new exhibition when I can. Not able to get to London often, or any other major city/town, Artspace gives me the cultural opportunity that I need.”   The addition of an access ramp (funded by the Norfolk Coastal Partnership) at the start of 2023 improved access to the gallery; and this spring North Norfolk District Council reroofed the space (funded by the Community Ownership Fund) reducing the water ingress. The extraordinary position of the building next to the sea resonates with the art, bringing an added dimension to exhibitions.

Barry Meadows, trustee of Cromer Artspace said “The health benefits of art are well known; we are in a time where our need for art is growing more and more apparent.  These improvements to Artspace on the Prom will enable us to bring more art to the community, giving the town an art space to be proud of.”  

Imran Nawaz, senior advisor and community benefit manager from Ørsted, added: “These works are a great example of how the Hornsea 3 Community Benefit Fund can be used to improve the energy efficiency and comfort of a community space. The improvements will mean Artspace can offer their facilities into the colder months when people need art and connection most. We’re looking forward to seeing more organisations reaping the benefits of the fund and encourage them to apply.”

Cllr. Liz Withington, portfolio holder for Community, Leisure and Outreach at North Norfolk District Council said: “Support for the Cromer Artspace is most welcome as it not only benefits community health and wellbeing but the work of this organisation is important in helping to grow the creative sector of our local economy. Culture and tourism are closely linked and the Artspace brings new people and repeat visitors to Cromer and the wider area. Through partnership working and bringing the Arts community together, it is also inspiring our young people to develop their creative skills and aspirations to work in this rapidly growing sector locally and nationally.”

About Cromer Artspace

Cromer Artspace is a volunteer run charity with the aim to help the arts in Cromer grow and develop and to involve more people from across the community.; art should be accessible to everybody.   Cromer Artspace put amazing art around the town – on walls where you’d least expect it – and in Artspace on the Prom.  

• Cromer Artspace’s Bigger Picture project has liberated art from the National Gallery (London) and most recently from Cromer Museum, for display around the streets of Cromer.  In 2025 Cromer Artspace will be bringing art from the National Galleries of Scotland to Cromer
• In Artspace on the Prom, Cromer Artspace brings an ever changing range of exciting contemporary art exhibitions to Cromer, delighting in the unpredictable and relishing in the variety.

About North Norfolk Rural Business & Community Grant

This North Norfolk Rural Business and Community project is part-funded by the UK Government through the Rural England Prosperity Fund, was supported by North Norfolk District Council and delivered in Partnership with Norfolk County Council.

About Ørsted:

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action and was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs approx. 8,000 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Ørsted). In 2022, the group’s revenue was DKK 132.3 billion (EUR 17.8 billion).

Visit Ørsted.co.uk or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

About Hornsea 3 Community Fund

Ørsted have launched Hornsea 3 Community Fund which will award a total of £7 million over a targeted ten-year period.

The fund will be separated into three pots: the main fund of £500,000, a Skills Fund of £100,000 and a new pot called the Legacy Fund of £100,000 which will go to one capital green project per year, to encourage a long-term positive influence in the region.

Applications to the Fund are made using an online application system via the GrantScape website grantscape.org.uk