WORKING TOWARDS THE RENOVATION OF AN OLD PUB BUILDING
The Portland Inn Project CIC (PIPCIC) is working towards the renovation of a disused pub building we were successfully given (through the process of Community Asset Transfer) by the council on a 25-year lease.
PIPCIC runs from the heart of a residential area, home to a diverse community that is largely made up of families who have a deep-rooted history of living and working in the area. There are also a great range of cultures represented in the area, some that have been living in the city for generations as well as families recently moved to Portland Street from all over the world, who are excited for opportunities to integrate and learn more about the area. Additionally, the city council has recently launched a new phase of the £1 home scheme for the area, which will invite further new families into the area.
The pub building has fallen into disrepair having been empty and unused for almost ten years previous to the project beginning in 2016. It, along with other boarded up properties in the area, have a negative impact on morale locally. Improving the building – making it beautiful and a hive of activity, will undoubtedly improve morale and boost our community’s pride in the local area. PIPCIC, in collaboration with residents, has worked hard to challenge the area’s negative stigma, and overthrow negative stereotyping.
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From our project’s beginning, we have been working to make the architectural design of the building a collaborative process. Starting with the Architecture Summer School in 2018, led by our architect Godson Egbo; we opened up the design process and were able to make a good start with how community members wanted the building to look and feel and work. It has been an inclusive and empowering project, reflected in the designs for the building – which will house a ceramics workshop, social space, community kitchen, roof garden, artist residency and key holder flat. The multi uses for the building reflect the requests of locals, and the project’s commitment to making the building viable and sustainable.
Our work with the community has focussed on reimagining what this space could mean to and provide for families living in the Portland Street triangle. Where the derelict pub building had become a symbol of neglect, collectively we have turned this around; it is now a symbol of hope for the neighbourhood.
Once the building’s renovation is complete, it will become a much-needed anchor building for the neighbourhood, providing access to ongoing creative, educational & cultural programmes, & opportunities for arts related employability, social enterprise, wellbeing & learning, recognised by Stoke City council as a vital, lynchpin project in the revitalisation of our neighbourhood & the city’s wider ecology.
The building is an integral part of The Portland Inn Project’s 100 Year Plan – A long term vision and commitment to sustainable strategies, with a plan of action for the environment we live and work in, effecting policy at local and national level in relation to our environment. ‘The existing building is the greenest building’ and PIP’s approved planning application of this beautiful retrofit to a former pub building is the first major step to a low carbon, energy efficient and environmentally sensitive community and cultural space. PIP have worked closely with architect Godson Egbo to research & consider sustainable materials & approaches in the building’s renovation, this is also an opportunity to adopt permaculture principles across the organisation & delivery, taking necessary positive actions.
Completion of this pioneering cultural community space will enable PIP to grow public activity, serving a large city-wide audience throughout each year. This will support PIP to deliver an ambitious cultural and educational programme from the heart of our residential neighbourhood.