Originally, Flook House was a manor house dating from the 17th century and in the 20th century it was the registry office for births, deaths and marriages for Taunton Deane Borough Council and our activity room used to be where couples got married and exchanged their vows through a civil ceremony.

2005

When the registry office moved in 2005 only a few small volunteer organisations had offices there but 80% of the building was empty, including the marriage room. In fact, a 2018/19 report suggested demolishing it, but a group of councillors concluded it should be saved and invested in “for its historical interest and potential social value”.

2015

In 2015, Creative Innovation Centre (CICCIC); who was only 3 years old at the time; proposed to the council that the building be used for business development for the creative industries. (See proposal here). However, the council decided not to support its use for creative industries.

2019

In 2019, the Liberal Democrats gained overall control in the first election for the new Somerset West and Taunton Council (Taunton Deane & West Somerset Councils combined) and with this new administration conversations about using Flook House as a creative industries centre had new meanings.

2021

In 2021, CICCIC, who is now 8 years old, rekindled conversations with Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) but this time from an arts and culture perspective. Plus, with partnerships built up with the likes of GoCreate a fresh proposal to create the Arts Hub was born. (See copy of proposal).

2022

With support of a small grant from SWT and GoCreate, we were able to accommodate parts of the building but it desperately needed doing up.

CICCIC was able to rustle up a bank of volunteers from the community and partnerships and the marriage room was made good with a paint party and pizza weekend. But the marriage room floor was awful, and we needed broadband everywhere, so CICCIC spent time using its own financial resources and applying for a small grant from Somerset Community Foundation, which it was able to achieve through these endeavors.

CICCIC is now the management organisation for all things Arts Hub and all its residents, studios and business development.

Results

Since 2022 the whole building is now at full capacity and there are arts and culture activities every week for all ages. It generates income for the local council to a sum of £19k per year but more importantly it is home to so many people, organisations and communities.

It still has a long way to go and needs to pay its way, and is often subsidised by CICCIC’s own finances, which is a strain on what can be achieved and what can be delivered. But we are so grateful that we have got this far and when we see the connection, joy, expression and sense of belonging in those who engage with Arts Hub we know we are doing the right thing.