THE birthplace of the Wellington boot is to become the capital’s newest arts centre after a £6.6 million award was made by The Heritage Lottery Fund and Creative Scotland.
The HLF is to invest £4,994,000, while Creative Scotland are to invest a further £1,728,075, to enable Edinburgh Printmakers to redevelop the historic former British Rubber Factory HQ, which was at risk of demolition.
The building, known as the Castle Mill Works, is a 19th century category C-listed structure in the west of Edinburgh. It was once the biggest factory in the city, employing 8,000 people making various rubber products, from the welly boot, to car tyres and the very first traffic cones.
The decision to save Castle Mill grew from Edinburgh Printmakers’ search for a contemporary arts centre to replace their cramped base on Leith Walk.
The funding follows three years of planning, and an award of £500,000 from Historic Environment Scotland in August.
Alastair Snow, chairman of Edinburgh Printmakers, said: “These awards will allow us to bring Castle Mill Works back from the very dilapidated state it has fallen into and transform it into a vibrant cultural resource.”
Work on the site is due to begin within the next year and is due to be completed by 2018. It will offer a year-round programme of events and exhibitions and will become part of the £120 million India Quay development on the banks of the Union Canal.
Following the redevelopment, the site will become home to studios, exhibition spaces, a cafe-bar, retail units, and a state-of-the-art printmaking facility, which will allow artists to take part in screenprinting, etching, 3D printing and lithography.
Iain Munro, Creative Scotland’s deputy chief executive, said: “Creative Scotland is delighted to be supporting the creation of a world-class centre for printmaking for Edinburgh Printmakers, an organisation of considerable experience and repute.”
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