The Making Rooms, a thriving creative hub in Blackburn, is set to undergo a significant expansion thanks to a £1.5 million government grant. The project will see the addition of two new levels to the existing building, repurposing the basement and roof space to create a wider range of workshops and facilities.
Blackburn 's thriving Making Rooms creative hub is set for a £1.5 million expansion. Using £1.5m of new government cash, the ambitious team at the town centre technology base is looking to expand and add two extra levels. A planning application has been submitted to repurpose the basement and roof space at their existing building on Exchange Street. The Making Rooms neighbours Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, The Bureau Centre for the Arts and stands opposite The Exchange.
It is also home to the team behind the award-winning National Festival of Making and Culturapedia. If approved the planning application would see the renovated basement alone double the amount that can be made at The Making Rooms, with a wide remit from agriculture robotics to cyber security, podcasting, ceramics, metal work, plastic recycling, textiles and device repair. The proposed design opens up more than 10 new workspaces. An additional storey is also proposed for the roof space offering a study room, breakout space and outdoor terrace. This would be transformed into a dedicated Eco Lab with the chance to study the likes of biomaterials and experiment with robot farming equipment. The new proposals also look to make the whole building fully accessible. Since opening in 2016, The Making Rooms has helped its tens of thousands of visitors from all across Europe develop technical and creative skills in everything from ceramics to 3D printing, mould-making and electronics. The hub was initially launched by Blackburn with Darwen Council before becoming a Community Interest Company. The Making Rooms lab director Tom Macpherson-Pope, said: “The potential this proposed expansion offers is just incredible. It’ll help transform The Making Rooms into the leading makerspace in the UK. “This new planning application is the next step in this exciting journey. The Making Rooms already has a great range of opportunities for people to get started in making or develop their skills – everything from classics like laser cutting and 3D printing to mould making and electronics development. “We are one space, but we have many labs. We also work incredibly hard to make these free to our end users. “Since opening in 2016, we have given tens of thousands of people making experiences and accelerated a ‘maker movement’ here in the borough – something we are really proud of and are eager to build upon with these new plans.” Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Cllr Phil Riley said: “The Making Rooms is a huge success story. They deserve this new funding and for the chance to make their expansion plans a reality to the huge benefit of our community. “We have visitors travelling from right across Europe here to Blackburn to visit The Making Rooms. You only have to walk through the doors to see what an impact it’s having – people of all walks of lives all coming together with a shared interest of technology and innovation.
MAKING ROOMS BLACKBURN EXPANSION GOVERNMENT FUNDING CREATIVE HUB TECHNOLOGY BASE MAKERSPACE ECO LAB BIO MATERIALS ROBOT FARMING ACCESSIBILITY
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