A NEW residential arts development centre is being built in Par after receiving more than £900,000 from the government.

The Creation Works CIO (charitable incorporated organisation) has received the funding to construct Hwel An Gwrians (The Creation Works) with the aim of supporting and retaining performers in Cornwall.

The new centre plans to connect children and young people with performance makers from across the county and beyond, offering routes into the creative sector.

Co-artistic director Miranda Henderson grew up in St Austell before leaving Cornwall in the 1990s because of a lack of opportunities.

Having returned with her company in 2017, Miranda hopes the Creation Works will mean future generations feel supported in the county.

The Creation Works will bring members of different generations together to explore, imagine and create. It will be a place in which the skills and ways of doing creativity are explored, and in which professional and community artists will work together.

Miranda said: “I love working here in my home of Cornwall. With the Creation Works here, we’ll be able to ensure young people don’t have to leave to find opportunities.”

The project has been a long time in the making. In 2018, a feasibility study, carried out with National Lottery funding through the Arts Council, heard from more than 100 artists, individuals and community organisations,

Now the initiative has received £929,000 from the government through the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Cornwall councillor Louis Gardner, cabinet portfolio holder for economy, said: “It is heartening to see that this award from the Shared Prosperity Fund will be put to such innovative use and help secure a performance space that will involve the community.

“We want to encourage initiatives such as this that will enable residents to get involved in producing and enjoying the arts, and all the benefits that brings for health and wellbeing.

“Through our Good Growth Investment Plan, we want to build on Cornwall’s strong theatre and performing arts industry and create more opportunities for the local community with a focus on children and young people, and the wider community of Cornish performers.”

The Creation Works organisation builds on the 25-year track record of Miranda Henderson and Alister O’Loughlin’s Prodigal Theatre, and Urban Playground Team.

Miranda’s company has, over the last few years, created a series of touring shows. International touring has included trips to Italy and Denmark, and performing for the British Council’s Great Diversity programme at the Qatar World Cup. In 2021, the team founded The Par-teee, a free family festival for Par Bay, and since the pandemic, through the Emergent Ensemble, they have trained 10 early career artists.

The main contractor for the construction project, Sureflow Building Services, is led by Brendon Cocking, who grew up in Par. Design is by the partnership of Helen Brooks (Atelier Helen Brooks) and Clare Mackness (Hireth Architects). Ian Hick is the structural engineer. Steelworks are by Hewaswater Engineering, groundworks by WH Bond & Sons and pilings by Saxton Drilling. All are Cornwall-based businesses.