Impact Investing - The Creative Land Trust

About

The Creative Land Trust was established in 2018 as an independent entity to attract public, philanthropic and social investment funds to enable the purchase of property (buildings and land) to provide affordable workspace in perpetuity across London. Its mission is to support the creative ecology in London by creating a network of sustainable, permanent spaces, which will remain affordable for artists and creative producers in perpetuity.

Challenge

The Creative Land Trust has been designed in direct response to a crisis in artist workspace. Is it a scaled intervention that seeks to change the fundamentals around affordable workspace provision by drawing on the diverse strengths of a public private partnership, both in the design and funding of the Trust.

The availability of affordable creative workspace is declining in London, with an expected loss of 30% of artists͛ workspace (approximately 3,300 studios) in just a five-year period to 2019 – due to rapid development and increase in property values. The resulting threat to London's cultural ecology is significant. Artists and creative practitioners are exposed to rising prices both in housing and workspace.

Credit: Philipp Ebeling