The borough is one of nine in the capital to receive funding to continue developing its Creative Enterprise Zone in Blackhorse Lane, aimed at ‘helping to unlock affordable studio and workspace, and supporting local creative businesses’, reports Marco Marcelline

Blackhorse Lane was designated a Creative Enterpise Zone in 2021

Waltham Forest is set to benefit from £70,000 from the Mayor of London to support artists and creative businesses located in the borough’s Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ).

The borough is one of nine to receive a share of a £630,000 pot to continue developing its CEZ in Blackhorse Lane, helping to “unlock affordable studio and workspace, support local creative businesses, and protect the cultural communities that have helped define neighbourhoods across Waltham Forest”.

In 2021, Blackhorse Lane was designated a Creative Enterprise Zone, and in 2023 the zone was officially launched as Blackhorse Collective.

Waltham Forest Council has said the establishment of the zone “recognises the high quality of the area’s existing businesses, its rich history of making, and its potential for growth, while providing affordably priced spaces for artists and creative businesses, and creative training and employment opportunities for local people”.

The council says the CEZ will “ensure Blackhorse Lane’s status as a breeding ground for creativity for many years to come”.

As well as funding support for nine existing zones across the capital, Mayor Khan has announced a new fund to back long-term capital projects across all twelve zones, and separate funding to secure a permanent home for hundreds of artists at the Propeller Factory in Deptford.

Artists celebrating the announcement of funding for Acme Propeller Studios in Deptford, Credit: Mayor of London

CEZ’s, launched by the Mayor in 2018, were created to help artists and creative businesses put down roots in the communities they helped to regenerate, offering access to affordable workspace and tailored business support.

A 2023 report on CEZ’s showed that between 2018 and 2021, creative businesses in CEZ’s grew by 22%, at a time when London as a whole saw a fall of nearly 4%.

Alongside Waltham Forest, boroughs including Croydon, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Lambeth, Hounslow, Ealing, Haringey and Hammersmith and Fulham will receive funding. The capital’s remaining zones in North Paddington, Brent and Islington will also be able to reapply for funding later this year.

Mayor Khan is also extending a capital grant fund of up to £1.35m to support major long-term investment across all Creative Enterprise Zones, including new buildings, specialist equipment and energy-efficiency improvements to studios.

Khan said: “Culture is in the DNA of our great city. Creative Enterprise Zones have transformed London’s culture scene from the grassroots up, protecting local artists, making workspaces more sustainable and creating jobs. This investment will ensure that artists and creatives in places like Waltham Forest can stay in the capital, grow their businesses and help build a better and fairer London for everyone.”

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