Chair, Creative Quarter Company. Chief Executive, Confetti Media ... for best cities to start a business and the .... ap
2013 - 2016 3 years in the life of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter.
Creative Quarter Creative City
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10% of Creative England’s top 50 companies are in the Creative Quarter area and Nottingham is in the UK top ten for best cities to start a business and the happiest places to work. 2
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This report captures the impact on the businesses, people and places supported by The Creative Quarter company. It’s a story about a collective set of energies that have brought positive, transformative change to the city. The Creative Quarter is now an intrinsic part of Nottingham's success. I hope you enjoy discovering how the initiative is making a difference and what we have planned for the future. Craig Chettle Chair, Creative Quarter Company Chief Executive, Confetti Media Group
The Creative Quarter initiative started its life in May 2013. Conceived as an 'incubator without walls' to power the new Nottingham economy, The Creative Quarter (CQ) initiative has, in just three short years, led the transformation of The Creative Quarter area and become a catalyst for the city’s economic recovery and growth. Creating jobs. Supporting and sustaining business. Cultivating and celebrating talent. Nurturing thriving priority sectors. Encouraging inward investment. Inspiring creativity, innovation, culture and entrepreneurship. The initiative was the brainchild of business leaders in the city and aimed to continue the growth of Nottingham’s historic Lace Market, Hockley, Sneinton Market and Pennyfoot Street areas, home to BioCity, the UK’s largest bioscience incubation centre.
The area has long been home to creativity and entrepreneurship. In the days of the British Empire, the Lace Market was the centre of the world’s lace industry; famous Victorian architect Watson Fothergill designed many buildings here; and throughout the Industrial Revolution, pioneering industrialists like Calverton’s William Lee, the inventor of the knitting frame, and mill owner Richard Arkwright radically developed the way people lived and worked. It’s always been a place for scientific and technological innovation too, with Ibruprofen discovered in the buildings that are now home to BioCity. The businesses in The Creative Quarter are drawing on that legacy to reinvent enterprise, innovation and manufacturing for the 21st century, helping to shape the future of Nottingham. The CQ was proud to win a prestigious European Enterprise Promotion Award for Improving the Business Environment in November 2015.
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The European Commission jury who judged the awards said:
“The Creative Quarter project showed imaginative policy changes and use of policy instruments working in cooperation with grassroots and practical initiatives to support the energy and drive of entrepreneurs. It also evidenced vision, strategic use of European funds for sustainable development and a people-focused creative approach to urban innovation.”
Our Aims
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"The rate at which promoting enterprise, creating jobs and growth is happening and the impact for Nottingham’s businesses and young people is fantastic."
Cllr Nick McDonald Portfolio Holder for Jobs,Growth and Transport Nottingham City Council
Creative Enterprise
"The Creative Quarter plays a vital part in fuelling the region's creative industries."
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Supporting enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation. Creative People
Darren Henley Chief Executive, Arts Council England
"I’ve lost track of all the awards, accolades and accomplishments that the Creative Quarter has picked up in the last couple of years! It’s a brilliant story for Nottingham and one that I’m really proud to have played a part in. It’s great to see the CQ making such a committed effort to create opportunities for young people in the city."
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Attracting and developing highly skilled and diverse talent. Creative Place
22 - 31 Shaping a dynamic, exciting place to live, work and play.
John Yarham Director, Nottingham Futures
Impact So Far £4.2 million
93 internships & 83 apprenticeships provided by Creative Quarter businesses
visitor spend due to additional events in The Creative Quarter area
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58 businesses supported to access superfast fibre broadband and improve digital connectivity.
vacant shops brought back into use
£5.81 million invested into public spaces
850
businesses supported
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special events bringing 125,000 visitors to the CQ
7978m2 of new creative workspace in the area
£5.25 million direct investment into SMEs.
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jobs created
14%
rise in number of businesses moving into the area from 2012
£1.8 million invested into business development
and support programmes
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"Since the CQ project was established, it has had a remarkable impact on enterprise and the local area. The CQ has invested in digital infrastructure and skills development, through high quality cross-sector business support programmes. This level of localised support is really helping businesses fulfill their potential and grow more quickly, contributing to a prosperous economy in the city and the region.” Sir John Peace Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire
Creative Enterprise The CQ Company exists first and foremost to support independent entrepreneurs and businesses – from innovative startups to thriving SMEs. We’ve spent the last three years engaging and working closely with businesses in our priority sectors including retail and leisure, social enterprise, life sciences, low carbon and the creative and digital industries. Our aim is to help businesses get up and running, grow sustainably and be successful. We do this through:
Being a one-stop source of free, highquality information, support and guidance. Helping businesses to access business support programmes to start-up and grow.
Providing 'access to finance' initiatives including The CQ Loan Scheme, The Nottingham Technology Grant, Nottingham City Council’s Vacant Shops Grants and The Creative Quarter New Business Rates Relief Scheme.
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1 Support for businesses One of the key issues for all entrepreneurs and SMEs is getting access to working capital, to enable them to start-up and grow. We provide a signposting service to a range of ‘access to finance’ schemes and business support programmes, for priority sector businesses and entrepreneurs looking for advice, information and guidance. We also provide a property brokerage service for businesses looking to locate in the area, a ‘soft-landing’ package to help them settle in and practical support and advice on everything from planning and change of use, to fire regulations and licensing applications. So far, we’ve supported 850 businesses through these services and the list keeps growing.
Susan Hallam, Managing Director of Hallam Internet at Creative Class 2015
2 CQ Loan Fund
4 The Creative Class
As part of the CQ Initiative, Nottingham City Council teamed up with First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) to offer loans of up to £25,000 at a special rate to new start-ups and existing businesses based in the Creative Quarter area. One of the businesses who benefited was Future Fresh Ltd, an innovative IT business set up by three graduates based in Fletcher Gate, named part of Nottingham’s Creative Class of 2014: "Since moving to Nottingham from Loughborough we’ve seen a dramatic increase in opportunities to collaborate and network with other local businesses. The Creative Quarter has been the perfect place for us to progress and develop and over the next 12 months we’re looking to really cement our future, by continuing to develop our network, evolve our services and expand our workforce.”
To celebrate and highlight entrepreneurial talent in the city we developed a partnership with Nottingham Means Business to produce The Creative Class. This recognises ten exciting and dynamic Nottingham based businesses every year, epitomising the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of the city. In 2015, seven of the ten were located in the Creative Quarter area and BioCity. In a nutshell, the Creative Class are Nottingham’s flagship companies, the homegrown, high-growth businesses creating next generation products and services.
5 CQ News Hub We provide a one-stop source of news and information to businesses and entrepreneurs via our website and social media. We also help businesses and entrepreneurs celebrate their success stories via our website, fortnightly e-newsletter and social media channels. With 10.3k Twitter followers, 5,474k Likes on Facebook and 2,000 people receiving our e-news, this provides businesses with a free, quick and simple way to expand their reach and engage with new audiences, peers and influencers. We also offer more in-depth coverage, via online features like business showcases and ‘CQ Meets’ helping put Nottingham on the map as a great business location.
3 Superfast fibre broadband Creative Quarter-based businesses have also benefited from enhanced broadband speeds, thanks to the introduction of superfast fibre broadband via the national Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, and the CQ Connect programme. CQ Connect was a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded scheme that gave businesses digital vouchers and technology grants to improve their digital connectivity.
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Dizzy Ink Printing Studio Cobden Place
Left, NKD Waxing Salon Right, owner Rebecca Dowdeswell
Since its launch in April 2013, the Creative Quarter Loan Fund has lent a total of £828,500 to 35 local businesses. A varied selection of businesses have been supported including digital media, app development, marketing and independent retail and restaurants.
57 new jobs created and 82 safeguarded For every £1 lent, the wider economic impact is worth £5.28 To date, the Fund's impact is worth £4,374,480
Using the social and economic impact calculator, First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) who manage the Creative Quarter Loan Fund, calculate that for every £1 lent, the wider benefit it provides is worth £5.28. That means the fund’s total investment of £828,500 has produced an economic impact of £4,374,480. One of the many retail and leisure businesses who have benefited is NKD waxing, who are thriving after a recent revamp funded by a £25,000 loan from the fund. NKD first opened its doors in Bridlesmith Walk in 2009. Five and a half years later, the specialist waxing and beauty salon moved to its new home on Pelham Street in Hockley. Owner Rebecca Dowdeswell explained: “When we moved to our new premises, we completed a massive fit-out of all three floors. The upper floors of the property were near derelict and I couldn’t have renovated them without the loan. We now have more
space and we’ve enjoyed a huge increase in walk-in trade due to better footfall on Pelham Street compared to our old location.” Fully integrated marketing and communication agency, Brown Dog, were awarded a loan to help their move to George Street, creating new jobs for Nottingham residents. The agency now employs 20 staff and celebrated their 10 year anniversary in 2015. Director Hanna Ellis said "We wanted to move to the Creative Quarter to work more closely to retail, be closer to our clients and attract new staff. Our loan enabled us to refurbish a dated Victorian building in the right location, so we could expand and grow.” Cobden Place was also given a loan to restore an old factory building, now home to an exciting collection of emerging and established creative businesses and entrepreneurs. Managing Director, Becky Evers said:
"Being able to access the CQ Loan Scheme has enabled us to regenerate our leased property which had previously been derelict for 30 years and open the space up to creative businesses offering city central workspace with great connectivity." Becky Evers Managing Director, Cobden Place
“The Fund enables us to help Nottingham businesses to develop their ideas and propositions. It can be a catalyst for so many great ideas to come to market." Neil Millington CQ Loan Manager, FEBA
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Could you talk us through some of Sygnature’s highlights and achievements over the past three years? We’re proud to report we’ve identified 15 compounds on behalf of clients, which have progressed into development. Five are in human clinical trials, with the most advanced being in phase 2, which means the new drug is given to a relatively large group of patients, typically 100-300. This record of success shows our scientists’ expertise in their field, enhancing the value of research and accelerating treatments for patients.
An interview with Simon Hirst, CEO of Sygnature Discovery. Sygnature Discovery works in a complex area of medicinal research demanding continual innovation, early stage small molecule drug discovery. We talk with Simon about Sygnature’s ongoing success.
We’ve continued to widen our capabilities in scientific research and keep a clear vision of what needs to be achieved, without losing the ability to be proactive. In January 2015, we established our new Drug Metabolism department with £800,000 investment, to research the effects of the body on potential new medicines – an essential part of the drug discovery process. By bringing new areas of expertise in-house, we’re able to take on larger, fully integrated projects for our clients.
sygnaturediscovery.com
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Simon Hirst CEO Sygnature Discovery
A major highlight last year was being ranked 50th in a national competition organised by the Sunday Times Export Track 100 – in recognition of our growing international sales. Sales growth internationally and in the UK has meant we now employ 130 scientists and have eight laboratories – a significant increase since 2014. Why is it important for Sygnature to be in BioCity? We chose BioCity for its highquality laboratory space and to co-locate with other healthcare companies. In 2014, we thought we may have to move in order to expand. Fortunately, through a deal signed in summer 2015 between Nottingham City Council, BioCity and Sygnature, the Discovery building was born! The building, on the corner of Huntingdon Street and Pennyfoot Street, is currently the Creative Quarter’s largest construction project. When it’s completed in March 2017, the facility will provide around 4,645 square metres of highly advanced laboratory and office space – including being home to Sygnature.
How do you think the new building will benefit Nottingham and the life sciences priority sector? It will be a flagship building for life sciences in Nottingham – creating hundreds of new jobs. It will show the UK and global markets that Nottingham is a thriving centre for biotech and healthcare and that centres can flourish outside Oxford, Cambridge and London. It will also create more space and facilities for other BioCity companies to start up and grow. What are Sygnature’s future aims? Over the next three years, we want to enhance our integrated drug discovery capabilities with additional scientific expertise. We’ll continue to invest in our long-term future, with another £1.2m of investment this year alone. How has being part of the CQ helped your business? The Creative Quarter has helped to raise the city’s profile, which helps us and other local companies attract staff who want to live and work in the city – something that can only be positive for the local economy.
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Artist’s impression of ‘Corona’ the Discovery Building’s solar installation by Wolfgang Buttress.
Discovery Building to be completed in March 2017
Impression
An interview with Tom Craig and Aaron Dicks, founders of Impression. Impression is a creative digital marketing agency with a strategic edge, passionate about pushing new technology to its limits. We ask Tom Craig and Aaron Dicks about Impression’s rapid growth.
You were named a Creative Class business in 2015 by Nottingham Means Business. What does this award mean to you? When we started out, we knew we wanted to grow quickly and believed in our proposition. But we couldn’t have anticipated how far we’d come in such a short time. We started our business in November 2012 and now we’ve grown from a team of two to more than 20, serving some big name clients nationally and here in Nottingham, including University of Nottingham and Company Check. Creative Class was a huge honour for us because it recognised how far we’ve come. It also introduced us to the networking opportunities provided by Nottingham Means Business, which have helped us raise our profile and gain new clients. Going back a little, you helped build the CQ website. What was it like working with us? It was a challenge we were keen to meet! The CQ is an important part of Nottingham’s growth and we wanted to help showcase its importance and the many benefits available
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to local businesses – through the website. We really enjoyed partnering with the design agency, Waste, and providing programming solutions to bring CQ information, previously distributed across different sources, into one central, convenient place. The website helped the CQ to position itself as a leading business support network. What drew you to move into a larger office in the Creative Quarter? The area was growing quickly and we felt that Nottingham was fast becoming a city which nurtures new business growth – putting itself on the map for creativity and digital innovation. The Creative Quarter was a cost-effective solution for us, allowing us to invest in an office space we could grow into as we picked up speed. It was also important for us to be in the city centre, for access to transport and local amenities. We enjoy socialising too and being close to local, independent shops, bars and restaurants. Plus, there are business benefits to being here. We benefited from the CQ Connect scheme and it made a big difference.
You’ve recruited the majority of your team from local universities. Why is it important for Nottingham to be a graduate city, as well as a student city? You were named a member of Creative Class in Nottingham 2015. What is a fantastic place with huge potential for people does this award mean to you? to build a thriving career. We When we started out, we knew appreciate that bigger cities like we wanted to grow quickly and a certain draw, London have believed in our proposition. But of businesses but the calibre we couldn’t have anticipated in the East how Midlands is really far we’d come in such short highaand we’re seeing more and time. We started our business more investment coming into in November 2012;the we’ve area.now We’ve started our own grown from a teamgraduate of 2 to 20 scheme and have two and serve some huge localnamed graduates here, benefiting clients here in Nottingham and and on-the-job Turnover from training nationally such as experience, University ofto help them build exceeded Nottingham and Company Check. their careers as part of a creative, £500,000 The Creative Classyoung, was a knowledge economy. in FY14-15 huge honour for usWhat’s because theit future recognised how farfor we’ve come Impression? and really made us think about Moved to future is certainly here and reflect on our Our achievements. 2,500ft2It office in Nottingham. We see great also introduced us to the opportunities offeredfor growth and Stoney networking Sreet in opportunities intend to continue investing by Nottingham Means Business, February 2015 business and the wider which we’ve used in toour raise our business profile and gain new clients.community, through our digital marketing services. First employee Going back a little, you always helpedon the lookout We’re hired inbuild 2014 our CQ Website. Could for proven, experienced In 2016you they talk about your experience professionals as well as local working with The CQ? graduates to join our team. now have 20+ Working with the CQ was a employees impression.co.uk challenge we were keen to meet! The Creative Quarter is an important part of Nottingham’s growth and we wanted to help
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CQ Connect The CQ Connect programme enabled 50 SMEs to improve their digital connectivity, by providing vouchers and technology grants to help businesses upgrade their tech infrastructure and develop their online presence.The programme helped businesses to grow significantly by maximising the opportunities open to them, boosting the contribution SMEs make to the local economy by £2.5m (GVA). All businesses supported said the programme was either vital or important to achieving growth.
Donovan Snape Director, EV Charging Solutions
Grants up to £20k increasing capacity to use high speed internet £770k value of CQ Connect Grants awarded 156 new jobs and £7.5m contributed to local economy £16,880 value of broadband vouchers awarded
We speak with Donovan Snape and Chris Everitt about their business, EV Charging Solutions, specialist installers of electric car charging stations, and how they benefited from the CQ Connect programme. First year turnover was £118,000; the second grew to £488,000. Grown from 1 member of staff to 3 full-time employees.
Donovan Snape has always lived in Nottingham and studied at the University of Nottingham. For him, it was ‘Nottingham or bust’. So when Chris approached Donovan to start EV Charging Solutions, there was no question where it would be. With connections at Nottingham’s CleanTech Centre, they soon moved from a van to a thriving office and in 2015, became one of the 50 businesses to benefit from the CQ Connect Programme. What did you receive from the CQ Connect Programme and how has it benefited your business? We received a grant to buy the equipment you need for a growing business– computers, printers and hardware like Infusionsoft, a CRM type system which manages our back office. Overall,the support has been massively invaluable and it’s enabled us to grow exponentially.
Could you talk us through some of your highlights and achievements over the past few years? The growth! We’ve moved to a larger office and have taken on more staff and fitters. We now have five fitters working for us and have won contracts with the likes of Ricardo, Brompton Bikes, the Environment Agency and the NHS, where we’ve partnered with Rolec, to name just a few. What would you like to see happen in Nottingham and the Creative Quarter, to grow and develop the clean tech sector further? Nottingham has been given £6.1m to increase infrastructure for low carbon vehicles and related technology, so it would be great for the city to become a hub for electric vehicles and lead the way. We should use this opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the UK.
evchargingsolutions.co.uk 14
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“We opened One BC 18 years ago and while the creative community has always been strong in Nottingham, it has been quite secretive and in independent pockets, nobody would shout about it collectively. Now, the CQ has started to galvanise all this talent across every discipline and push it forward as a cohesive force to be reckoned with." Tony and Reeta Brack Founders, One BC Clothing
Creative People The Creative Quarter is fast becoming the place for creative thinkers and innovators, with the area nationally recognised as one of UK’s happiest places to work. The success and future of the Creative Quarter depends on creative people including business leaders, place-makers, entrepreneurs, creatives, graduates, students, interns, apprentices and more. To attract and retain talent, we:
Produce and coordinate an evolving programme of public events and activities with creatives and freelancers. Foster skills-sharing and collaboration through a thriving scene of networking events, meetups and social events. Inspire and develop the talented workforce of the future, through apprenticeships, internships and encouraging young entrepreneurs.
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1 Entrepreneurs The Creative Quarter is home to all kinds of entrepreneurs, from established business owners with boundary-pushing ways of working, including social enterprises and co-operatives, to ingenious new start-ups and micro businesses. It’s also home to a rich variety of businesses, from creative and digital companies to independent retail and leisure. We work closely with entrepreneurs from all walks of life, to help them realise their ideas and grow their businesses.
Enter Festival: Young People Making Things Happen, 2014.
2 Employees and freelancers
4 Apprentices
The Creative Quarter is a great place to work, embracing and supporting many contemporary approaches to work in the 21st century, such as collaborative workspaces, portfolio careers and combined work and socialising. Through the area’s ever-growing events programme and networking scene, people’s talents are being developed everyday, via meet-ups, sharing knowledge, ideas and inspiration, learning new skills and innovative partnership working. There are meet-ups for every interest and type of creative business, including digital and tech, print, gaming, social entrepreneurs and craft socials.
With Nottingham City Council we’ve helped create 83 apprenticeships in the area and 251 in our priority sectors, while supporting the wider apprenticeship aims of the city, working closely with our partners. As well as supporting businesses to benefit from apprentices, we’ve also led by example and employed our own apprentice, Courtney Nettleford. After working with us as our Web, Social Media and Marketing Apprentice, Courtney went on to study for a Foundation Degree in Television Production Technology at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies. Confetti Media Group trains around 1,500 young people in the creative industries every year.
5 Young entrepreneurs
3 Internships and graduates
Empowering young people in Nottingham is key to having an innovative and highly skilled workforce and a thriving, sustainable economy. Nottingham is one of the youngest cities in the UK, with over 50% of the population under 30, so it’s essential we support young talent. In 2014, we launched Enter Festival for 16-24 year olds in Nottingham, a series of inspiring activities to encourage entrepreneurship and a DIY attitude. For 2015’s event, we worked with over 20 venues and partners to forge a platform for young people to showcase, share, learn and gain support for their ideas. The next festival promises to be bigger and better than ever. We’re also coordinating the Cultural Education Partnership, bringing cultural organisations and education partners together to develop a programme of events involving children and young people with culture from an early age, inspiring the next generation of creative thinkers and innovators.
We work with a diverse range of partners to help keep graduates in the city, while making sure they have the skills and opportunities to travel and work in other cities too. Graduate retention is important to Nottingham as the demand for a skilled workforce continues to grow. That’s why we support graduate schemes like #Grads4Nottm, which gives students access to some of the great businesses and graduate roles in the region. We also support The Hive, Nottingham Trent University’s incubator, by helping student-founded businesses find a home in The Creative Quarter. We encourage businesses to take advantage of graduate talent and internships and have led by example, by employing our own graduate. Paige Hartley has designed this report and our Explorers’ Guide to the Creative Quarter and advised Nottingham City Council on their graduate retention video for the city.
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An interview with Geoff Baker, CEO of ICN Apps Home to two fantastic universities, Nottingham has a great pool of fresh and emerging talent, giving businesses the pick of the bunch. We talk to founder and CEO of ICN Apps, Geoff Baker, about why it’s important for businesses to harness talent in the city.
What are the benefits of hiring graduates and how has it impacted on your business? Graduates that enjoy the excitement of being on the cutting edge of a new frontier seem to have an element of self-managed motivation about them. A hunger to learn, or to be different. I challenge them to think differently, to think without the fear of making a mistake, and as a consequence, to create something better than what’s out there at the moment. Personally, it’s rewarding to see their confidence develop and professionally, graduates make a major impact on our product development. We’ve been able to pack the company with some really motivated and engaged young people, some of who have stayed on in the city after studying. Tell us about your partnership with Nottingham universities to offer students internships and placements at ICN Apps? I called the universities’ career departments, even though I thought perhaps we’d be too small for them to be interested. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Within days, we had a number of candidates and at interview, it turned out these guys think very creatively. Their lack of work experience actually means they think in an ‘unburdened’ way.
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Geoff Baker CEO, ICN Apps
I hired one student from University of Nottingham (UoN) and one from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and half expected the old rule of ‘50% recruitment success’ would apply. But both turned out to be great! Since then, I’ve taken every opportunity I’m offered to take part in things like student panels and surveys.
to create links with important digital industry cities around the globe. This would open up fantastic opportunities for graduates as well as businesess like ours. I also think we need to help graduates identify local SMEs with a track record of employing graduates, to make sure graduates don’t just go to corporate companies.
How do you think the Creative Quarter company and local businesses can work together to improve graduate retention?
Tell us about ICN Apps and why you chose the Creative Quarter to expand?
Let’s make sure we keep doing what we’ve started and not stop! The Sandander-backed initiatives with both UoN and NTU have been fantastic and both universities, the Creative Quarter Company and the City Council have worked brilliantly together to encourage taking on graduates, by supporting the first three months of their employment. These schemes, coupled with schemes like the CQ Connect Fund and the CQ Loan Fund have given companies every possible incentive to hire graduates. Winning national and international awards gives Nottingham the right to argue it’s right up there for the creative and digital industries. In my opinion, we need to use those wins
After a couple of years working alone and contracting specialist work out to various suppliers to get a portfolio of products into the Appstore, I was given some investment capital to expand and take work in-house. I was at a fork in the road. Stay in London where I’d been for 20 years working in the media industry, or relocate. I put a call through to Invest in Nottingham as I grew up here and was hugely impressed with their efficiency, ‘can do’ approach and the fact even a tiny company like ICN Apps mattered to them. They said they were in the process of setting up the CQ. Looking back, I guess it was a leap of faith but I liked the vision and wanted to be a part of it.
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1,000% growth in downloads since coming to Nottingham Revenue doubled from 2014 to 2015 Worked with 17 graduates and undergraduates icn-apps.com
"It wouldn’t have been possible for Hosta to grow in the way that it has without the input of skilled graduates" Helen Taylor Founder of Hosta Consulting
Graduate Claire Russell combined studying in Nottingham with gaining work experience, to launch her career at Hosta.
"I made the decision to move to Nottingham whilst travelling in Australia. I was keen to return home and start studying, and while I wanted to be close to family and friends back in Leicester, I thought Nottingham would give me the experience of living in a new city – somewhere I’d always loved to visit. Since moving here in 2012, I’ve had an amazing journey – from studying at NCN and Nottingham Trent University (NTU) to working full-time for a business in the Creative Quarter. I began at NCN in the Lace Market, studying a Foundation degree in Hospitality and Events Management. I got so much out of the course, and the work experience period meant I got the opportunity to really immerse myself within the city. Whilst there, I was Event Manager for the Enterprise Society, which is where I first became interested in business innovation. Sheridan Chilvers, manager at the Enterprise Society, really helped me to get involved with all kinds of entrepreneur and business events and I also had the opportunity to meet the EU Commission Vice President at the launch of the CQ in December 2012. The event
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showed how important the Creative Quarter initiative is to the city of Nottingham, in terms of supporting local businesses and communities, and how it can help a city to thrive. After a fantastic time at NCN and working for Gorilla Events, I was accepted on to the third year of the BA (Hons) Business Management and Marketing degree at NTU. My tutor, Ian Gregson, played a big role in my professional development. He was my tutor at NCN and NTU and encouraged me to gain work experience and make the most of the opportunities that college and university provide. Studying made me realise how much I wanted to work for a small company, rather than a large corporate. So I was delighted when I got the role of Business and Marketing Executive at Hosta Consulting. Not only do I have an interesting and varied role, but I get the job satisfaction of working for a business that creates such value for both the community and the environment. Helen is an excellent manager and I’m really grateful for the way she’s let me have so much input into the business in just a few short months."
Hosta Consulting is an urban landscape design studio based at Cobden Chambers. They describe their work as ‘greening the grey’, using plants to create spaces, in harmony with the surrounding context and architecture. We talk with founder Helen Taylor about the benefits of hiring graduates. hostaconsulting.co.uk
"I founded Hosta Consulting as a sole trader in 2012 and one of my aims in growing a small business has been to employ local graduates. I finished my BSc degree at NTU the same year, and understand the work involved in studying for a degree, the skills it brings to individuals, organisations and communities and how graduates can help me build a resilient business. It wouldn’t have been possible for Hosta to grow in the way that it has without the input of skilled graduates, the support of the CQ, CQ Connect funding, Nottingham Growth Hub, NTU, The Hive (NTU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise), Future Factory (NTU’s hub for business support in sustainable design and practice) and the University
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of Nottingham’s Growth 100 business programme. At Hosta we have an inclusive approach to management and financial transparency which allows the whole team to contribute to the shared vision for the company. Continual professional development is a priority and we aim co create an environment for graduates and apprentices to thrive. Graduates are a valuable resource for any company. They bring energy, vibrancy and expertise."
The Story So Far Take a look at what The CQ initiative has achieved since it launched three years ago, including supporting SMEs, independent retail and leisure, producing amazing events and developing talent.
2012
2013
July
November
February
March
The Creative Quarter is conceived as the flagship project of Nottingham’s City Deal.
Mich Stevenson OBE DL is announced as Chair of The Creative Quarter Company.
Programme of public realm improvements begin.
CQ Loan Fund launched.
May
June
Kathy McArdle appointed as CEO for The CQ Company.
Nottingham Technology Grant Fund launched.
September
December
Next Business Generation accelerator programme opens.
CQ Pop-up Shop open with 45 businesses taking part.
December The Creative Quarter Company is launched. Antonio Tajani, then Vice-President of the European Union, launches The Creative Quarter Initiative.
Toby Reid Director, BioCity
2014
2015 March
April
May
National Videogame Arcade opens in Hockley.
Creative & Digital D2N2 sector mapping and sector development plan completed.
Enter Festival is launched. The UK's first festival for young entrepreneurs.
August
September
October
Construction on new BioCity building begins.
Feasibility Study commissioned on potentially bringing The People's Hall back into use.
Launch of Explorers’ Guide to The Creative Quarter.
January
February
November
Sneinton Market refurbishment finished.
CQ Events programme commences.
The Creative Quarter Company recieves European Enterprise Promotion Award for 'Improving the Business Environment'.
Cobden Place, a refurbished factory, opens in Cobden Chambers.
Cobden Chambers opens with new retail businesses in The Terraces.
'The Big Think' on the CQ and Nottingham, a six-month consultation to inform The CQ's Strategy.
Craig Chettle is announced as new Chair of The Creative Quarter Company.
The Creative Quarter Company receives Enterprising Britain Award for 'Improving the Business Environment'.
April
2016
“The vision of the Creative Quarter always included life science entrepreneurs rubbing shoulders with creative folk in a busy, vibrant part of the city and that is what the Creative Quarter has rapidly become, helping us attract the very best talent from all around the world.”
A bright future for The Creative Quarter
Real Creative Futures programme launched by New Art Exchange to support creative industry businesses.
October
March
May
Summer
First businesses move into Sneinton Market.
Dance4 move into Space2, Dakeyne Street.
Nottingham Cultural Education Partnership is launched, led by The CQ Company.
The CQ Company celebrate 3 years and multiple achievements.
Launch of 'Big House' creative and digital industries sector support programme.
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CQ Connect launched.
Hockley Hustle music festival is revived in The Creative Quarter area.
June D2N2 Growth Deal announced: Nottingham receives funding for new FE Skills Hub and life sciences Discovery building.
November The Creative Quarter Company's strategy for 2014 - 2023 is launched.
December Rough Trade opens on Broad Street, its first flagship store in the UK outside London.
“The Creative Quarter is home to a plethora of unique live music venues and spaces and uniting them all together for a oneday music festival is no easy task. The Hockley Hustle organisers couldn’t pull it off without the faith, commitment and resources that The CQ provide. We hope to build on the success of 2015 with another festival in 2016 and continue our journey to long-term sustainability.” Ashley Dilks Organiser, Hockley Hustle
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"The Creative Quarter plays a vital part in fuelling the region’s creative and digital industries. We’ve recently invested £500,000 in the region, to equip businesses with the skills they need to thrive. Led by the CQ, this project will be delivered by a consortium of creative organisations, universities and local government, demonstrating the power of local partnerships to attract investment, create jobs and drive economic growth.” Darren Henley Chief Executive, Arts Council England
"The initiative has been such a success I’m collaborating with the CQ to replicate it in my own constituency, Nottingham North. I believe it will have a huge impact on the life-chances, aspirations and employment prospects of the people who live here."
“Before my apprenticeship, I was at home with all faith in the education system lost, working in a café, unhappy and bored. Two years and 10,000 lattes later I came across the CQ and jumped at the chance to become their Web, Social Media and Marketing Apprentice. Not only did I gain a qualification, I learnt a set of invaluable life skills, met loads of fantastic people and now I’m studying a Foundation Degree at Confetti, with the aim of becoming a TV producer.”
Graham Allen Nottingham North MP
Courtney Nettleford Confetti Student
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“We never wanted to just be a business in Nottingham, we want to become a part of it and there is no better area to keep accomplishing that aim than the Creative Quarter. It’s laying the groundwork for a community of creatives to grow and sees itself as part of the larger whole – the city and its creative talent and drive. Nottingham is going through an artistic evolution and the Creative Quarter is playing a huge part in this, by giving individuals the chance to develop their practices into their careers.”
1 Public Spaces Working with Nottingham City Council we’ve delivered a whole range of improvements to make the Creative Quarter more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, including improving the junctions of Stoney Street/Warser Gate and Southwell Road/Manvers Street. We've created a new space for outdoor dining on Broad Street and Heathcoat Street by adding new paving and improved public spaces and highways across the city, from transforming Trinity Square into an events space, to improving gateways into the city, such as Station Street and Derby Road.
Benjamin Kay and Craig Proud Founders, Dizzy Ink Creative Studio
2 Retail and Leisure To support retail and leisure businesses in the Creative Quarter, we launched a free 68-page, pocket-sized Explorers’ Guide to the Creative Quarter to encourage visitors into the area and create a buzz around Nottingham’s amazing independents, from cafes, bars and restaurants, to shops, galleries and venues. We’ve distributed 20,000 copies of the guide around the Creative Quarter and the city, including key venues like Nottingham train station, and a digital version is available on our website. We take the lead on things like street dressing and advocate for independents, through initiatives like the CQ Retail and Leisure Forum, which works with Nottingham City Council to address issues for businesses in the area.
Creative Place The Creative Quarter was always envisaged as a place for innovation and the home of thriving independent entrepreneurs and businesses. Equally it was imagined as a place with a lively social life, day and night. From bars, pubs and a buzzing nightlife, to cafés, restaurants and bistros for every palette, plus an incredible variety of art, culture and heritage experiences for visitors, residents and businesses. We’ve helped to bring this vision to life by:
Transforming public spaces and improving access routes and gateways into the area. Hosting a diverse variety of events and festivals – encouraging collaboration, creativity and community spirit. Creating innovative new creative workspaces and reimagining traditional urban streetscapes.
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3 A Cultural Place The Creative Quarter has played host to 49 public events and festivals including Nottinghamshire Pride, Hockley Summer Fayre, Green Streets Festival, Light Night, Record Store Day, Nottingham Indie Fashion Week and many more. This has brought over 125,000 visitors into the Creative Quarter, boosting the area’s economy by over £4.22 million, while putting Nottingham and the Creative Quarter firmly on the map for culture, creativity and independent shopping. The area has also played host to 68 business-tobusiness events, attended by 7,449 people.
Broadway during Pride Festival 2015 Photo credit: Julian Hughes
4 A Green Quarter Combining art and horticulture, our awardwinning urban greening project, ‘Articulture’, run in 2014 and 2015, brought nature into the Creative Quarter’s streetscapes, creating innovative, eye-catching green spaces throughout the area. We believe very strongly in creating more people friendly urban environments, which is why we hosted a European Mobility Week festival in 2014/15, to celebrate and promote sustainable modes of transport.
5 Creative Workspace We’ve helped to create 7978m2 of new creative workspace in the Creative Quarter. A neglected former hosiery factory at 2 Dakeyne Street has been transformed into the new home of Dance4, Notts TV and other creative and digital businesses. Cobden Chambers has been restored to its former glory as a home for a range of independent retail and design businesses. Sneinton Market units have been renovated to provide space for independent makers and entrepreneurs. The five-storey, state of the art, Discovery building being built next to BioCity is opening in 2017. And the Nottingham Skills Hub is being built on Canal Street, to prepare young people for the world of work and industry. These new workspaces complement the high quality existing business locations at Antenna Media Centre and Broadway.
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Wired describe themselves as a place where coffee is at the centre of it all - slightly quirky, with a friendly, good feeling vibe, a place to work, to chat, to meet friends or just to sit and listen to the ever-changing playlist. We caught up with founders Très and Vanessa to see how it’s going.
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Can you tell us how Wired Café benefited from the Vacant Shops Grant Scheme?
What positive changes have you seen in the area since opening Wired?
What are your favourite highlights and achievements since opening?
Wired was one of the first businesses to benefit from Nottingham City Council’s Vacant Shops Grant Scheme. At the time, we were in the middle of a substantial refit of our property, which represented a huge investment of funds. The grant enabled us to get funds to do some of the internal electrical works that had to be completed for us to turn, what was an old empty retail shell, into a bustling café in the heart of Nottingham.
When we opened the area had a feel of ‘forgotten potential’. Hockley and the Lace Market areas have always been associated with leftfield creativity and independent retail, but at the time, it felt like it hadn’t quite fulfilled its true potential. On our street alone, there were four empty units and a disused alleyway.
Our highlights over the past years have been too numerous to mention. In all honesty it’s not necessarily the big markers I remember. What sticks out for me is that every day at least one person tells me the coffee we serve is the best in Nottingham. To hear that after working so hard to create our vision, that’s the highlight that matters.
The last three years has seen a complete revolution in the feel of the area. There is a vibrancy and excitement about the whole Creative Quarter area. There is still more that can be done to encourage excellence in the daytime retail offers, but as we watch the evolution of Nottingham’s retail diversity happen, it feels an exciting time to be running our independent coffee shop.
What impact has being part of a creative community had on your business?
You also received Creative Quarter New Business Rates Relief, what did this mean for you as a start-up in the area? In real terms, this allowed us six months of trading before business rates kicked in. For a new business, this was an immense help. Business rates are a large and challenging expense for small businesses and the rates relief period enabled us to get established.
We see Wired as being very much part of the creative community. We actively use local independent businesses for design, print, creative challenges and development ideas. We also see our role not only to be a place for creative conversations to happen, but to connect creatives together.
wiredcafe.co.uk
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"The last three years has seen a complete revolution in the feel of the area. There is a vibrancy and excitement about the whole Creative Quarter area." Tres Gretton-Roche Owner, Wired Cafè
"We have neighbours, we have regular visitors and we’re surrounded by creative, supportive people. We feel really lucky to be doing this in Nottingham." Iain Simons Director, NVA
Iain Simons Co-Founder, NVA
How did GameCity grow into the NVA?
In March 2015, the UK’s first national centre dedicated to videgaming opened in The Creative Quarter. Building on the success of GameCity festival, the National Videogame Arcade (NVA) is a permanent place for people from all walks of life to enjoy the art and culture of gaming. We sit down with the Director of GameCity and NVA cofounder, Iain Simons, to find out about the story so far.
The journey into becoming the NVA was really made possible by my business partner, Jonathan Smith. I was just starting GameCity with Nottingham Trent University (NTU) as he was starting LEGO games and he’s been a hugely important and influential supporter over the years. NVA started with a conversation on the last day of GameCity 8. Myself and Jonathan chatted about what GameCity would be if it was a place and how I wanted it to grow and the time seemed right to make it real. It’s always felt like a natural next step to have a permanent venue – with the festival transforming parts of Nottingham temporarily and the GameCity team coming mainly from an arts and theatre background.
gamecity.org
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How do you think NVA has benefited from its location in the Creative Quarter? Hugely. As a festival, we pop up and make a big impression but then we disappear again, so it’s fantastic to be part of something permanent. We have neighbours, we have regular visitors and we’re surrounded by creative, supportive people. We feel really lucky to be doing this in Nottingham right now, there’s a real momentum here. What do you think needs to be done to develop the videogame industry here? I’m saying this a couple of days after Sumo Digital have just announced they’re opening a major new studio in the city and Lockwood Publishing have been nominated as one of the Creative England 50. On one level, the bigger studio development in the city is gaining traction, although we can still do more to grow that area. We’re on the cusp of becoming what inward
investment folks would describe as a ‘cluster’ and it’d be great to be recognised on the UK map as a centre of excellence for developers. We have a great opportunity to nurture and inspire a new generation of developers by drawing a direct line from inspiration and the community that the NVA will hopefully generate, to learning and starting a business. What role do you think gaming culture plays in shaping a creative place? Gaming culture, particularly as it grows up and invites more people into it, is one of the most accommodating and plural forms of art there is. Whether you’re a musician, writer, performer, director, coder or architect, to name just a few, there’s a place for you somewhere in videogames. I think that fluidity is massively positive and can have a great impact on creating a creative place, if you channel it in the right way.
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What are your future ambitions for GameCity and NVA? We’ve got a lot of things we want to do and the list keeps growing. Our strategic plan involves 1) making the NVA a sustainable, profitable business and 2) the leading institution in the interpretation of videogame culture. Of course, number 2 encompasses a lot of things including GameCity festivals, publishing content, creating new events, touring, making games and creating learning programmes – and new ideas keep emerging everyday. I want our customers to love visiting and our staff love coming to work. We’re really lucky to have an awesome team that have given more than would be expected of anyone to make NVA happen. It’s their success, I just give the interviews!
Photo credit: David Severn
Space 2 Create | Learn | Produce
3,266m2 of new workspace for creative and digital businesses. Fully occupied, it will house up to 15 SMEs and over 60 employees.
This former hosiery factory is steeped in history. It was once used as an air raid shelter holding 500 residents and in 2005 it transformed into the renowned Moot Gallery formed by NTU graduates. Today, it is a valued centre for creativity. Residents include local creative companies Notts TV and Dance4.
Dance4 is an internationally recognised centre for the development of extraordinary 21st century dance, supporting international and UK artists, creating a strong regional dance programme across the East Midlands and providing a unique voice in the UK dance sector. We join Dance4 as they visit their new home in Dakeyne St. and talk with Paul Russ, Chief Executive and Artistic Director.
dance4.co.uk
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How has Dance4 grown over the years? We started as a small organisation with one or two members of staff and now, 25 years on, we’ve grown massively. We’ve gone from supporting artists who develop new ideas to running international festivals and being the regional host for Big Dance and Youth Dance activities. We produce and tour nationally and internationally, with new work from artists based in the UK. One of the challenges we’ve faced has been asking artists to make and create work in compromised environments so I’m delighted we’ve moved to a new worldclass centre in the heart of the Creative Quarter – a great way to celebrate our 25th year! What will the move to Dakeyne Street do for Dance4? We were based in Hockley for 15 years before moving away, so it feels like a homecoming. By being in the Creative Quarter and Sneinton, we can hopefully reach out to the community in a way that other organisations don’t. We have three large state-of-the-art dance studios plus our offices, which means we can work with artists and
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the community at the same time and connect lots of people through dance. We have a really close affinity to the area and it’s amazing to be part of reimagining a very old building, steeped in history, but forgotten for quite some time. By changing existing spaces you can take the history with you whilst creating new stories for that building and the community. It’s also very exciting to be cohabiting with lots of other creative organisations - enhancing the opportunities and resources we provide to artists and the public. What are your ambitions for Dance4? To ensure that dance continues to have an important role in the creative and cultural life of Nottingham and that we’re able to support artists to create work that inspires and connects with the public. What would you like to see happen to help the creative sector in Nottingham grow? We need to demonstrate more than our economic impact and value and develop ways to demonstrate the social, educational and intrinsic value of the creative and cultural sector.
“The Creative Quarter provides a real boost to the region’s economy, creating jobs, bringing inward investment into the area and supporting businesses already here to achieve high growth, and the City Council is proud to be part of the project’s journey. I feel the CQ is creating a sustainable legacy and contributing to a more prosperous future for our city.” Ian Curryer Chief Executive, Nottingham City Council
What we’re going to do over the next four years… Creative Enterprise Business Engagement: Understand, work with and support businesses, with a dedicated Business Engagement Manager role in place. Business Support: Help our priority sectors to grow sustainably across the D2N2 LEP area (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership) area, by working collaboratively with other organisations and delivering a tailored programme of sector-specific business support. Creating Opportunities: Work with the newly formed 'Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire' to attract inward investment and increase visitors, footfall, dwell time and consumer spend. Smart Business: Help businesses to use ICT to innovate, working with D2N2 ICT consortium. Access to finance: Provide an 'access to finance' ladder of progression for priority sector businesses and nurture a pipeline of new businesses locating in the area.
Creative People Apprenticeships and Work Experience: Create opportunities for young people aged 16-24 with Creative Quarter-based businesses and our priority sectors, in partnership with Nottingham City Council's Jobs Hub. Internships and Graduate Placements: Promote and support opportunities to Creative Quarterbased businesses and our priority sectors to attract, nurture and retain new talent. Supporting Talent: Host regular events and opportunities for people who work in the Creative Quarter and our priority sectors, including regular 'CQ After 5' meet-ups and a programme of peer-topeer learning, networking, collaboration and support.
Our Future Plans Priorities for 2016 - 2020 We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but equally, we’re looking forward to the next four years. The Creative Quarter Initiative is ongoing and we’ll continue to work with our many partners to realise our shared vision – to put the Creative Quarter on the map as a great place for creative businesses and great city living. Together, we’ll continue to be ambitious and pioneering, for the Creative Quarter and the city, providing innovative, independent, collaborative place-leadership and initiatives with long-term benefits, for the area and its residents, businesses, entrepreneurs, talent, both established and emerging, visitors, culture and spaces.
CQ-Net: An online knowledge-sharing platform for CQ businesses, priority sectors and partners. Creative Nottingham North: A one-year pilot project to develop the creative and digital sector in Nottingham North (Bulwell, Bulwell Forest, Bestwood, Basford, Bilborough and Aspley) with a view to it becoming a sustainable three-year programme of work.
Creative Place Public Realm: In partnership with Nottingham City Council, we will design and deliver dynamic and accessible public spaces in which to live, work and placy, attractive to visitors, residents and businesses alike, including a clear action plan for public art in the Creative Quarter. A Green Quarter: Establish an innovative, fit-for-purpose digital, green and low carbon infrastructure in the Creative Quarter. Retail and Leisure: Work with Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID), independent businesses and Nottingham City Council to market Nottingham's vibrant independent offer and deliver flagship events like Nottingham Fashion Week, to boost The Creative Quarter's day-time and night-time economy. Events: Continue to coordinate an exciting programme of regular events showcasing business, innovation, heritage and culture, including festivals, markets, street animation and digital interventions. Creative Workspace: Bid for funding a CQ Property Refurbishment Fund and a CQ Property Fund, which would work with the private sector to provide a more varied, fit-for-purpose and exciting mix of business and enterprise workspace in the Creative Quarter.
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Our Approach When we started, we embraced the innovation principles of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and we’ve tried to stay true to them and support likeminded entrepreneurs, businesses and creative people. We’ll keep working in this way. It makes us agile as an organisation and fits with the digitally-fuelled global world in which the Creative Quarter sits. Here’s how we put these principles into action:
Pull instead of push We didn’t have much by way of resources when we started, but we pulled resources from the networks and ecosystems around us, rather than controlling them centrally.
Take risks instead of focusing on safety We don’t play safe and neither do the kind of businesses and organisations that we support.
Resilience instead of strength The power to bounce back is more important than the ability to resist failure, so when we fail, we learn from it and keep trying. One of the areas we want to do further work on is bringing key heritage buildings in The Creative Quarter back into enterprise use. We know this is a challenging task but a vitally important one.
Value the crowd instead of experts We talk to a lot of people and source their wisdom, because there isn’t just one person who’s an expert on The Creative Quarter. Practice instead of theory The CQ initiative is about making tangible things happen rather than spinning theories. The CQ PopUp Centre showed we were about 'doing' and being agile in the way we worked.
Have compasses, not maps We don’t try to plan everything. We have a strong vision and values, but we figure some things out as we go along. We’re flexible and look ahead to where we want to go, instead of following a slavish route.
Embrace serendipity Sometimes amazing opportunities present themselves and we go with the flow to make them happen. When BioCity realised they were bursting at the seams, it was a great chance to build on the incubator’s success and the extraordinary new Discovery building was born.
Support disobedience instead of compliance No-one starts a business or creates something new by being told what to do. That’s why we support disruptive creativity from street art to skateboarders and come up with projects like Articulture, bringing nature into the area’s streetscapes in innovative ways.
Emergence over authority The emerging innovators, entrepreneurs, independents and makers are our primary focus. They’re the fuel of the city’s economy and the next generation of business people in the city. They are creating the companies and jobs of the future.
Focus on learning over education The Creative Quarter is home to the knowledge creators and producers of tomorrow, occupying unique collaborative spaces, both formal and informal. Everywhere is a learning space – from the area’s FE colleges and business hubs to its streets, cafes and bars.
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The Creative Quarter has been imaginative and insightful in making the most of Nottingham’s potential. Now our culture is increasingly digital and it is the digital that shapes our culture. Digitization represents a tectonic shift whose devices with their disruptive potential are changing cities, society and social life, connectivity, the economy and cultural life. It will be as powerful as the climactic changes that swept through our world with the industrial revolution 200 years ago. To harness this power is The Creative Quarter’s next challenge. Charles Landry Author of ‘The Digitized City: Influence & Impact’
Shaping a confident future. An evolving story
A growing reputation
A lot can happen in just a few years. Nottingham is a UNESCO City of Literature and a member of the UNESCO network of Creative Cities. It’s also England’s first City of Football. We’re one of the youngest cities in England, with 50% of the population under 30. More and more, we’re becoming known as a top ten city in which to live work and play, including being the fifth best city in the UK to start a business. Iconic businesses like Rough Trade have chosen to locate here; we’re home to great events like the Simon Starling exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary - the Turner prize-winning artist who studied at Nottingham Trent University; Hack 24 – 24 hours of code and creativity in the heart of the city; and MediCity Innovators Week – the largest healthcare innovation event of its kind outside of Oxbridge/ London. To name just some of the many highlights.
The CQ initiative has been at the heart of this evolution. It’s held a mirror up to the city and helped Nottingham realise it’s a creative city – and a great city. It’s championed priority sectors like independent retail and leisure, social enterprise, life sciences, low carbon and creative and digital industries, as well as culture, talent, collaboration and social innovation. Beyond that, it’s nurtured the elements of a great city, creating a buzz, not just on the city’s streets, but nationally and internationally too. From Expedia’s video on Nottingham’s world-famous music scene, created with LeftLion and Nusic, to Charles Landry recognising the Creative Quarter’s contribution to shaping Nottingham as a creative city. The Creative Quarter is a huge part of the city’s wider story and it’s helping to put Nottingham well and truly on the map.
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With thanks to: The Creative Quarter board members who took a leap of faith in the initiative; the brilliant CQ staff team who have worked tirelessly to improve the area; all our partners across the city who have engaged with and delivered key elements of the initiative; Nottingham City Council without whom The Creative Quarter wouldn’t be possible; and the many creative entrepreneurs, businesses and people who continue to breathe life and energy into the area.
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Design by: Paige Hartley
The Creative Quarter Unit 36, Avenue C Sneinton Market Nottingham NG1 1DW
Printed by: Tenfold
Call 0115 7100 107 Email
[email protected] Website www.creativequarter.com
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