Hackney Wick set to benefit from £1.2m fund to help creative industries go green

Hackney Wick is part of a Creative Enterprise Zone. Photograph: Creative Wick

Hackney Wick is set to get a chunk of a £1.2 million investment from City Hall to help creative workspaces become more sustainable in the face of rising energy bills.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced earlier this month that grants of up to £200k are available to the nine local authorities in the capital that contain Creative Enterprise Zones (CEZs).

These zones, one of which is Hackney Wick and Fish Island, are designed make parts of London permanently accessible to artists and creative organisations.

Councils will be able to use the new funding to support local enterprises in various ways, such as replacing a building’s older heating system with heat pumps and installing new windows, or conducting an ‘eco audit’ to investigate ways for organisations to become more energy efficient.

Arbeit Studios, a company that takes empty spaces and transforms them into studios for individuals, start-ups and small businesses, owns several locations in Hackney Wick and Waltham Forest.

Director Hajni Semsei hailed the impact of the CEZ programme.

He said: “Having been located in Hackney Wick for many years, working with and supporting hundreds of local creatives as well as bringing in an audience to the Hackney Wick and Fish Island zone, we have witnessed the area going through rapid transformation, putting its creative community at risk.

“The CEZ programme has meant that now there are specific mechanisms in place to protect the local community and support its long-term permanence in the area, as well as putting emphasis on enhancing environmentally conscious communities.”

Sadiq Khan established CEZs in 2018, and by 2025 the scheme is set to increase its workspace offerings by more than 65,000 square metres.

He said the energy crisis is hitting London’s creative industries “hard”, and that it is “vital” to support them in becoming more energy efficient.

He added: “This latest investment reaffirms my commitment to placing the environment at the centre of our economic recovery and will help workplaces deal with burden of the cost-of-living crisis and spiralling energy bills as we build back a fairer, greener city for all.”