Delivering spaces where creativity, heritage and communities thrive

From historic theatres and cultural landmarks to community hubs and public gardens, the UK’s arts, culture and community sector shapes the places where people come together, learn, create and belong. These projects are often some of the most complex and rewarding in construction, involving multiple funding streams, heritage constraints, highly engaged stakeholders and the need to keep venues operational throughout delivery.

At Potter Raper, we help clients plan, fund and deliver arts, culture and community projects with confidence. We understand the particular pressures of this sector, whether that’s satisfying National Lottery Heritage Fund requirements, navigating listed building consents, or managing delivery within tight public sector budgets.

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What shapes the Arts, Culture & Community sector

Clients in this sector face a distinctive set of challenges:

• Securing and managing grant funding from bodies such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund
• Working within Grade I and Grade II listed buildings, where every intervention requires careful justification
• Balancing community and stakeholder expectations with commercial and programme realities
• Maintaining access and operations throughout construction in live venues
• Delivering sustainable, future-ready spaces on public sector budgets

These demands require partners who combine strong technical knowledge with genuine sensitivity to the buildings, organisations and communities involved.

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How Potter Raper supports Arts, Culture & Community clients

We provide commercial, technical and project management expertise across the full lifecycle of these projects. Our role is to give clients the certainty and control they need, from early feasibility and funding support through to contract management and completion.

Our approach ensures:

• Robust cost planning and budget control, including grant-funded procurement
• Programme assurance on phased and operationally constrained schemes
• CDM and Health and Safety advisory in complex, live environments
• Sensitive delivery within heritage and listed building settings
• Stakeholder confidence through clear, consistent communication

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Some of our Arts, Culture & Community projects

Newtown Works, Ashford International – Ashford Borough Council

Regeneration of the former railway works yard, home to the longest Grade II listed buildings in the country, into a 12.6-acre mixed-use development including 80,000 sq ft of TV and film studios, a film school in partnership with local further education institutions, a 120-bed hotel, 302 residential units and new public realm. Supported by £14.7m of Levelling Up Funding.

Service: Bank / Fund Monitoring

Sky Studios Campus, Elstree – Legal & General

A state-of-the-art film and TV studio campus totalling 585,000 sq ft, housing 13 sound stages, two production support buildings, offices, a visitor centre and a multi-storey car park. Developed in partnership with Sky, Comcast and NBCUniversal, the campus is targeting net zero carbon by 2030 and is set to become the most sustainable production facility in Europe.

Services: Quantity Surveying, Project Management, Employer’s Agent, Building Surveying, CDM Principal Designer

Highdown Gardens – Worthing Borough Council

Heritage Lottery-funded restoration of a unique chalk garden and National Plant Collection within the South Downs National Park. Works included a new visitor centre, accessible pathways, a propagation glasshouse, refurbished public facilities and an interactive interpretation programme, delivered on time and within budget despite COVID-19 related site closures.

Service: Project Management

Winter Garden, Eastbourne – Lewes and Eastbourne Council

Lift access works within the Grade II listed Winter Garden, part of Eastbourne’s Devonshire Quarter theatre and entertainment complex. Works involved careful structural intervention within a listed building to improve accessibility for future events, requiring close coordination with the design team and heritage advisors.

Services: CDM – Principal Designer

The Old Vic Backstage building – London Borough of Southwark

A six-storey extension to The Old Vic, providing new facilities for education, creativity and community engagement, alongside enhanced back-of-house accommodation. The project supports the theatre’s outreach programmes and long-term financial sustainability through the creation of flexible learning, event and community spaces.

Service: Bank / Fund Monitoring

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Our core services for Arts, Culture & Community include:

• Project Management & Employer’s Agent
• Quantity Surveying
• Due Diligence & Bank / Fund Monitoring
• Building Surveying & Technical Design
• Health, Safety & Environmental Services
• Fire Safety & CDM Advisor Services
• Building Regulations Principal Designer Services
• Sustainability, Decarbonisation & Retrofit
• Clerk of Works

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Why choose Potter Raper

Arts, culture and community projects demand technical precision alongside genuine care for the buildings and communities they serve. We bring both, helping clients deliver spaces that inspire, endure and serve their communities for generations.

We Listen. Solve. Deliver.

Explore more of our experience and work in the Arts, Culture & Community sector: https://potterraper.co.uk/sectors/arts-and-culture-and-community/#main

To get in touch, visit https://potterraper.co.uk/contact/