Working alongside Bolsover District Council and partners to transform a former Co-operative building into a community-led creative hub that supports culture, enterprise, learning and social innovation in the heart of the town.
The opportunity
In early 2024, Bolsover District Council commissioned Local to explore how culture and creativity could contribute to the future regeneration of Bolsover town centre.
Rather than beginning with a specific building or predetermined solution, we were asked to undertake a strategic options appraisal to identify opportunities for a new cultural facility that could support creativity, learning, enterprise and community participation while complementing wider regeneration ambitions across the town.
Working closely with council officers, local organisations, artists and stakeholders, we assessed a range of potential sites, explored national precedents and developed a long-term vision for cultural infrastructure in Bolsover.
Through this process, the former Co-operative supermarket emerged as the strongest opportunity. Its prominent town centre location, scale and potential for flexible reuse made it the ideal home for a new Creative Co-op—a community-centred hub for making, digital creativity, learning, enterprise and social innovation.
The feasibility study became the foundation for the emerging Creative Bolsover vision and informed the Council's expression of interest to the Arts Council England Place Development Fund, positioning culture and creativity as a catalyst for regeneration, partnership and long-term investment across the town.
What Local brought
We didn't simply write a feasibility study. We worked alongside Bolsover District Council to understand the wider opportunity for culture within the town's future.
Our role combined strategic research, community engagement, creative thinking and practical planning to:
• identify the most appropriate location through a comprehensive options appraisal;
• understand local needs, aspirations and existing cultural assets;
• develop a compelling vision for a new Creative Co-op;
• design an operating model that balanced creativity with commercial and organisational sustainability;
• build partnerships across culture, education, regeneration and enterprise;
• create an evidence-based business case capable of attracting future investment.
The resulting work laid the foundations not only for the proposed Creative Co-op, but also for the wider Creative Bolsover vision that followed.
What changed
Over the course of the commission, the Creative Co-op has developed from an empty building with significant potential into a well-defined strategic project with growing support across the district.
Together with partners, we have developed a shared vision for a flexible, multi-purpose destination that brings together creativity, enterprise, learning and community life under one roof.
The project has established a clear strategic direction, explored sustainable governance and operating models, identified phased approaches to investment and meanwhile activation, and created a stronger evidence base to support future funding and delivery.
Importantly, the process has also strengthened relationships between partners, ensuring that the building is being shaped not simply as a capital redevelopment project but as a long-term community asset with culture and creativity at its heart.
As the project continues to evolve, Local remains closely involved in supporting strategic development, partnership building and future delivery planning.
Why it matters
For Local, the Creative Co-op demonstrates that cultural infrastructure can do far more than provide a venue for arts activity. When designed around local needs, it can become a platform for creativity, skills, enterprise, participation and civic pride.
The project also showed how a single feasibility study can become the catalyst for wider strategic change. The ideas developed through the Creative Co-op informed the emerging Creative Bolsover vision, helping reposition culture as a driver of town centre regeneration, economic growth, partnership development and community wellbeing.
Rather than treating buildings as isolated capital projects, Local works with partners to understand how cultural infrastructure can strengthen whole places. By combining research, community engagement, strategic thinking and practical delivery planning, we help create projects that are ambitious, investable and capable of evolving over many years.
