Former Thamesmead pub awarded £382,000 to become arts centre, cafe and nursery

Thamesmead’s Lakeside Centre has received £382,000 by Arts Council England to convert the building to artist studios.

The building overlooks Southmere Lake and was formerly a pub. It was always handy for getting a pint as a 16 year old.

According to Bow Arts, who are behind the new venture, the money will see a lift installed to the first floor studios and events spaces, solar panel system to allow the centre to generate a good proportion of its own power, and installation of a rooftop lightbox put the building “on the map”.

It’s currently vacant:

Our 4th #OpenHouseLondon visit today was Thamesmead's Lakeside Centre, star of @E4Misfits. @BowArts have fantastic plans for this building! pic.twitter.com/WbFr3E1vEl

— Paul Speller (@paulspellr) September 17, 2017

The plan is to open in Spring 2019 with:

• 40 new affordable workspaces for local artists, designers and makers
• A café serving “delicious, affordable meals and beverages”






• A nursery, run by the YMCA, with places for 6 babies, 24 toddlers and 28 pre-schoolers
• The “Enterprise Kitchen”, a hire kitchen and production and training facility run by social enterprise Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency, teaching cooking and business management skills to young, local street food businesses

It’s a great re-use of a building known by many in the area but not the most accessible. Artists studios seem a perfect fit. It’s a great spot overlooking the lake.

Adverts are far from enough to cover living costs and and pay to keep it going with hosting fees, URL fees and Theme costs adding into the hundreds of pounds.