Renowned arts institution Islington Mill, in collaboration with Salford City Council have been awarded a £3.3 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to create a new artist-led community around the Islington Mill site – ‘The Other City’.
Funding has also been secured from Arts Council England (£0.8 million) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (£0.5 million), with Islington Mill contributing £0.1 million (raised through fundraising) and Salford City Council contributing a further £1.8 million.
The ERDF funding supports the refurbishment of floors 5 and 6 of Islington Mill back in to useable workspace along with the purchase and conversion of New Islington Mill (by Salford City Council) to complete the heritage footprint of the historic mill and expand Salford’s creative centre for generations of artists to come. The works will create 24,358 square feet of new employment floorspace for the creative sector in Salford leading to 118 new jobs in the city, and are expected to be complete by early 2023.
Alongside the renovations a £0.71m Creative Support Programme will nurture new and growing creative enterprises in Greater Manchester through expert advice, training and development opportunities. The programme will be delivered over the next three years and work with 200 creative SMEs leading to the creation of 40 new jobs across these companies. It will be delivered as a partnership between Islington Mill Arts Club, Salford City Council and The Women’s Organisation.
Our funders
The Other City is receiving £3.3 million funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, European Regional Development Fund helps fund local areas to stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. More information about European growth funding.