Ageing art hub Arts Space Portsmouth to be given a £300,000 makeover by the city council

A BELOVED arts centre will be given a £300,000 make-over after Portsmouth City Council green-lit the funding for the overhaul.
By Tom Cotterill
Published 16th Feb 2019, 13:20 BST
Updated 18th Feb 2019, 10:47 BST
Arts Space Portsmouth is due to be given a 300,000 makeover to repair parts of the building, Portsmouth City Council has said. Photo: GoogleArts Space Portsmouth is due to be given a 300,000 makeover to repair parts of the building, Portsmouth City Council has said. Photo: Google
Arts Space Portsmouth is due to be given a 300,000 makeover to repair parts of the building, Portsmouth City Council has said. Photo: Google

Arts Space Portsmouth, home to nationally and internationally-known artists, uses a former Methodist chapel built in 1905, owned by the council, in Brougham Road, Southsea.

However, the building is looking rundown and in desperate need of repairs.

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Now the council has drawn up plans to spruce it up, which would involve fixing eroded stonework, corroded gutters and drainpipes and repairing defective window frames, a bowing external wall and a leaking roof.

Councillor Steve Pitt, the council’s deputy leader, said: ‘Art Space Portsmouth is a thriving community of artists and we're prepared to invest a substantial amount in the building to help ensure it remains a base for their work well into the future.’

Formed in 1980 by graduates and lecturers from Portsmouth Polytechnic, Art Space Portsmouth is now a charity that provides low-cost studios for professional artists and holds regular exhibitions and events.

The cash has come from the council’s capital budget – the sum of cash the authority can spend on the city.

Related topics:Steve PittPortsmouth City CouncilSouthsea