Are you a work-space operator, or occupier of a building providing creative workspace, performance, participation or creative skills-based activity in Margate?

This Summer we assisted workspace providers and creative tenants across Margate through our Property Support Pilot, which ran till October 2024. This offered help to 10 organisations, including building surveys, fire risk assessments, valuations, legal work, and consultancy advice that enabled them to plan for their future growth and long-term needs.

We understand the current challenges faced by the creative sector in Margate. The area has seen rising rents, unstable tenancies and a lack of suitable space to work, making it hard for creatives to develop their practice or scale their organization or business. We recognise that more is needed.

This week we have launched a new round of support funding which is immediately open to applications from local creative organisations. The Emergency Support Fund offers help with costs up to £10,000 for practical, property related support.  This includes things like:

• Paying for legal advice related to negotiation and/or extension of leases
• Covering commercial rents and or/tenancy deposits as a finite, emergency measure, where a long lease is already in place or being agreed via contract
• Paying for surveys, valuations and reports to determine repair and maintenance needs in buildings owned or leased (e.g. condition surveys, energy efficiency surveys, refurbishment surveys, accessibility improvements)
• Design or feasibility work which will help expand or improve space and offer, or increase capacity
• Emergency repair works which will ensure business continuation or increased revenue potential

Our funding remit

The Trust was set up with seed funding from the Margate Town Deal, which is split into a capital allocation (for the acquisition and development of buildings that remain affordable in perpetuity) and revenue allocation (for the delivery of projects and programmes to support the sector).

MCLT is not able to spend this fund on direct grants, but can cover costs of specific and time based outcomes as listed above.

Guidance on the process

This programme is intended to provide support to workspace operators and creative tenants, based on our current knowledge of issues in buildings and the needs of those holding the leases and bearing responsibility for the sub-tenancies within them. Each application will be treated individually, in confidence, and on a case-by-case basis.

Each application will be assessed for relevance and suitability and if successful will be able to draw down on funded support up to an agreed capped threshold. This will be subject to variables dependent on the type of professional expertise or costs sought.

We may vary thresholds and specific professional services in future rounds or in expanded versions of the programme.

What should you expect from MCLT?

MCLT will treat all requests in strict confidence and in compliance with GDPR regulations.

• Response time: MCLT will respond to your initial application within 5 days.
• Step 1: Short diagnostic call or meeting with applicant and MCLT
• Step 2: Assessment and confirmation of outcome, within 5 days.
• Step 3: Follow up call and feedback form completed after 60 days following receipt of funds, to enable monitoring as part of MCLT’s funding requirements with MHCLG/Thanet District Council

Please be aware that due to the nature of complicated requests, there may be further discussion and correspondence required beyond the initial 5 days response timeframe.

What does MCLT expect from applicants?

• Applicants will need to complete the form in full to enable the request to be considered, and ensure supporting detail is included to provide sufficient background and context.
• Applicants to respond to requests for further information in a timely manner and provide a clear update on how the support provided has helped/overall outcomes.
• Applicant to provide detailed feedback on support from any referred or signposted supplier, to allow for quality monitoring. This will be shared in confidence and anonymised when reporting onwards.

The fund will be open for applications until Friday 10th January 2025.