News & Press Releases
29.01.10 - Meanwhile Showcase - enter the Meanwhile Project Showcase and win your project £1000! Download the flier HERE for initial category information and the information we need from you to submit the showcase.
11.12.09 - Vitality in the Meanwhile at Nomad Creative Space - We held a celebration of the partnership work with members of Nomad Creative Space, Hastings Borough Council and the Meanwhile Project. Read more HERE.
07.12.09 - MEANWHILE LEASE FOR LAND - Latest news from phase 2 of the Meanwhile Project is that Government and key stakeholders are taking forward work through the Meanwhile Project to develop a ‘meanwhile lease’ for land. The main aim of the meanwhile lease for land will be to support community groups who want to get access to land for a range of purposes, including community food growing schemes, community parks, gardens or other green spaces. It could encourage those who own land that has been earmarked for development, but subsequently delayed, to lease that land on a temporary basis to community groups.
If anyone has any examples of obstacles they have encountered regarding meanwhile use of land/sites, then please let us know as this will be useful feeback and help inform the lease.
04.12.09 - TOWN CENTRES FUND: £2.6m Further Funding Announced - Communities and Local Government have announced a further £2.6m for 50 places needing help with town centres with empty shops, bringing the total investment to £5.6m. View a list of the 50 places HERE and the full press release HERE.
04.12.09 - MEANWHILE PROJECT PHASE 2 CONFIRMED - Phase 2 of the Meanwhile Project has been given the go ahead by CLG enabling the project to continue to support and facilitate temporary uses of empty shops and sites in England. Jess Steele, Development Trusts Association and lead on the Meanwhile Project said “The Development Trusts Association welcomes the Government’s support for the next phase of the Meanwhile Project. This project helps people to act now rather than watch our town centres and neighbourhoods decline while we wait for recovery. Assets exist in time as well as space - an empty building or delayed site development is social and economic value lost. We cannot afford to let such resources go to waste any longer. Working in partnership with councils and town centre managers, owners and agents, community groups and creative projects across the country, we can begin to reinvent the high street and make ‘meanwhile use’ a mainstream part of the way we do business.”
27.10.09 - MEANWHILE LEASE - We have the finalised version of the direct relationship (tenant-landlord) Meanwhile Use Lease through from CLG. Versions of the Intermediary Lease and Sublease are also available to download from the Useful Info page HERE.
25.10.09 - EMPTY SHOPS HANDBOOK - the Empty Shops Handbook is now available, co-produced by the Meanwhile Project and the Empty Shops Network, download it HERE.
12.08.09 - MEANWHILE LEASE - Members of the Meanwhile Project network have been asked to review constructively the proposed Meanwhile Lease as drawn up by Denton Wilde Sapte, the lawyers commissioned by CLG. Please make comments on this discussion forum. It has been requested by CLG that all comments are collated and fed back in order to inform any changes and make it as user friendly as possible. Download the lease below, please try to make comments to Emily Miller on em@meanwhilespace.com by August 21st.
03.08.09 - RATES MATRIX - A guide to the current business rates system in England and how this applies to you. Click HERE to download the document.
27.07.09 - FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT - Meanwhile Project makes 1st award
Concise and detailed project overviews from Margate received the first funding support from the Meanwhile Project, led by the Development Trusts Association (www.dta.org.uk) to boost community uses of empty shops. Two projects successfully bid for a total of £25,000. Alongside this financial support, the Meanwhile Project will help with business planning support and draw on the expertise of the DTA's Asset Transfer Unit (www.atu.org.uk).'Windows of Opportunity' will see the town centre animated by ten arts-installation projects.
'Design Studios' is set to stimulate the creative economy. It will see the former casino, a key town centre property, converted into design studios and hot-desk space to support the growing number of enterprises from the creative sector.
The Meanwhile Project is currently in the 'explore, develop and test' phase and has some limited funds to get things moving as soon as possible. Government has committed to provide further funds to the project later this year to support more beacons of meanwhile use. Further support will shortly be announced to those local authorities with high volume and proportion of empty shops.
The Margate projects, ready to get underway immediately, demonstrated a clear sense of ownership and leadership that had created enthusiastic support from property owners. Locations had been identified and assessed; costings and licensing/planning issues thoroughly researched. In application, this detail was accompanied by relevant photographs . There was also a commitment to capture the meanwhile experience to contribute to the findings of the Meanwhile Project help other projects using empty property for community uses.
Download a project overview form HERE to submit your request for an award of support.
23.06.09 - Meanwhile lease draft available mid-July
We're expecting the first draft of the Meanwhile lease from CLG in mid-July and we will be sharing it for comments through the website.17.06.09 - Meanwhile manual to make debut in July
The Empty Shops Network and the Meanwhile Project are working together to create an easy to use guide to initiating and running temporary projects in empty shops. It will be a practical, rather than theoretical guide, based on the network's experience delivering many projects in high street locations. The first edition will be released in mid-July, however additions from other projects and changes in funding and policy will require the manual to incorporate regular updates. If you can't wait a couple of weeks, please logon to the interactive part of the site and ask questions directly to your peers. www.meanwhilespace.ning.com
16.06.09 - Turning heads in Cambridge
Pedestrians in Cambridge are stopping in their tracks to watch the People's Cinema. The project turns empty shops into unique cinema spaces and gives local students an opportunity to showcase their work while creating a buzz on the high street.
People’s Cinema is part of a city-wide initiative called Changing Spaces, enabling local community groups and arts organisations to find innovative ways of using vacant shop units throughout Cambridge. It is supported by the Cambridge City Council and Love Cambridge, the new city centre partnership.
Watch a video HERE
10.06.09 - Margate sets tongues wagging in the Big Apple.
A meanwhile project in Margate earlier this year caught the attention of the 'artistocrats' in New York. The New York Times featured Margate in an article about art a recession busting tool. Read the article HERE.
Windows of Opportunity was an initiative that to stimulate interest into some of Margate’s empty shops being leased, whilst at the same time creating attractive and vibrant shop-fronts. Full details are available HERE
19.05.09 - Margate says 'You're fired' to empty shops.
The Meanwhile Project is working with Margate Renewal Partnership to see how they can accelerate the programme to use the town's empty properties for art and community uses. Shops are being shortlisted and projects explored. Watch this space for news.
18.05.09 - A Contemporary idea
Saltaire-based Caroline Brown today filled in The Meanwhile Project on her journey from Brighton based temporary art curator, to permanent purveyor of a retro-fashion outlet in Saltaire. Along the way encountering such unusual adventures such as the 'friendly and helpful property agent,' and the 'Landlord that just kept saying yes.' It's all about making and maintaining relationships.