North Devon Council is inviting expressions of interest from individuals, organisations and businesses working within the creative and cultural sectors who would like to be part of an exciting new Barnstaple development.
Boutport Street Studios, part of the council's Market Quarter project, is a new creative hub for North Devon, providing offices, flexible workspaces and studio spaces in Barnstaple’s historic centre. 36 and 37 Boutport Street combine historic character with the benefits of a new build, and were developed with funding from the government's Future High Streets Fund and Cultural Development Fund. This will create inspiring workspaces and the chance to be part of a community of like-minded creative people.
36 Boutport Street will become a centre for cultural activity, while 37 will be a new build incorporating affordable housing and employment units around a central arcade walk-way from the Barnstaple Central car park to the town centre. Located opposite the Queen’s Theatre and close to the Pannier Market, the development is in the perfect location to encourage creative cooperation.
North Devon Council's Lead Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, Councillor Malcolm Prowse says: "We are at a really exciting stage in the Boutport Street Studios development, and are ready to welcome expressions of interest that will help us transform these buildings into a vibrant, enterprising, evolving space to support cultural uses in the centre of Barnstaple. Culture means different things to different people so we are open minded on exactly how this space will ultimately be used. We welcome creative ventures in everything from fine art, fashion design, architecture, copy writing, digital media, ceramics and much more to be part of our community."
The occupancy of Boutport Street Studios will be managed by the council, ensuring the use of the spaces complements the current town centre offer and drives up footfall. It is anticipated that occupation of the buildings will be from Spring 2026.
Boutport Street Studios will include the following spaces:
- 36 Boutport Street:
The upper floors will provide fluid workspaces for the creative industries sectors, including arts, culture and digital, amongst others. The rentable spaces will include unfurnished shared workspaces, furnished co-worker spaces, and meeting/event spaces.
The ground floor will be an open plan space, which will operate as an art and culture café and events space, supporting the tenants, and may include front of house or reception provision for the studios and events space, as well as evening use.
- 37 Boutport Street is comprised of 11 individual ground floor workshop units either side of a central arcade, leading from Barnstaple Central car park towards the town centre.
The final operational plans, including setting of rents, details of support to be provided and calculations of service charges will depend on the interest received by the council, and the mix of tenants who come forward.
Full information is available on the North Devon Council website. Those interested in expressing an interest should email propertysevices@northdevon.gov.uk or call 01271 388377. Anyone who responded previously will be contacted directly.