The practice completed a project in 2006 to create a number of spaces for creative businesses and arts groups in the former Sunday school associated with Spencer Street United Reform Church in Leamingtons Old Town. The next phase will see the wider area redeveloped with the adjacent Loft Theatres site used to create a commercial development fronting the River Leam and the former church building converted to provide a new home for the Loft Theatre with access to a public square.
Robothams led the negotiations to gain planning and listed building consent for both the new theatre and the associated commercial development . In 2009 approval was granted for both schemes allowing development of the detail design and procurement process.
The theatre scheme when constructed will provide the Loft with a 250 seat auditorium, rehearsal spaces, changing facilities and a bar with an entrance and ticket office located in the foyer of the original church. The commercial scheme creates bars and restaurants at ground level with access to the riverside walkway along the Leam, an upper floor business centre with 31,000sq.ft of flexible space for SMEs and top floor live/wrok apartments.
Both schemes have a common architectural language, using modern forms with a palette of traditional materials, including red facing brickwork and render. The proposals when delivered will provide a vibrant cultural hub as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider area.
