woodend creative workspace officially opens today. i was in there for a meeting yesterday and the interior of the building had been transformed from cool white architectural space to a vibrant colourful hub with tenants’ work on all the walls. it looked good before, but now i wish we’d had all that work on show for the enterprising britain judging - it really makes a difference and proves that woodend is not about a showpiece building but rather about supporting a vibrant creative industries scene in the area.

the area’s creative businesses and practitioners have been invited to mingle with red-or-dead founder and designer-of-the-people wayne hemingway this evening to celebrate. hope you rsvp’d…

this seems as good an opportunity as there will be to give credit to pete massey, now of the arts council who was the driving force in guiding the idea for a creative centre through the renaissance process and into the hands of the council’s capable regeneration team. i remember being at one of the first meetings when the idea was discussed. my confession: i did wonder if we should start small and simple rather than aim to build something slick and impressive. so i was wrong. woodend is already at 70% occupancy - the business plan only required 40% in the first year.

pete also founded create arts development who constantly re-establish their position as one of the vital forces in the cultural transformation of scarborough. plus pete was my partner-in-crime in starting creative coast - the critical mass of which we were able to use to generate enthusiasm and potential tenants for woodend. creative coast is now helping creatives in the whitby area formulate ideas for a creative art/workspace.

and the controversy? when plans for the creative industries centre were first announced there was understandably concern that the building eventually chosen was home to a museum, albeit one that had seen better days. but converting the wood end [still two words back then] building wasn’t the original plan… i’m still slightly amused/bemused that the local residents who objected to the initial plans for a new creative industries building on the crescent’s vacant plot in effect forced the decision to instead convert wood end which proved to be far more controversial, and i suspect, more disruptive to the genteel tranquility of the crescent. ‘crescent resident’, ’small minded’ and ’shooting in the foot’ are now synonymous. [with apols to those who didn't kick up a fuss selfishly motivated by losing a nice view].

anyway, i think woodend creative workspace is a fitting phoenix to woodend natural history museum’s ashes. today feels a little like the local creative scene has come of age - we’ve been talking about local creative talent for so long and it’s great to have a new focal point where people can see that it’s not all talk. more than anything i’m really looking forward to crescent arts moving in the autumn and opening the gallery which will have free open access to the public. i hope that people visiting the gallery will also get a flavour of the work that goes on in the building and thus gain and understanding of what we mean by ‘creative industries’.