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Visionary new co-working office spaces to bring sustainable new life to our town centres

Last updated 06 October 2023
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Incuhive

Enterprise M3 is funding the creation of innovative co-working office spaces in town centres as part of its post COVID-19 Recovery Plan, boosting economic recovery and creating more sustainable work patterns.

Andover will benefit from being the first pilot scheme, with a modern, vibrant, co-working and business support facility right in the heart of the town centre, after Test Valley Borough Council secured more than £200k in grant funding from EM3 to deliver the project. This exciting new facility is intended both to support the town’s economic recovery by driving up footfall in the town centre and to aid sustainable working by reducing the need for office workers to undertake long commutes by providing equally well-equipped and better located local accommodation.

I am delighted that we will be able to support this pilot project as part of our Economic Recovery Plan, Revive and Renew, which will open up an innovative new work space to enable people to work closer to home.

During COVID-19 many of us have discovered new ways of working, with many of us home working but we know this is not always easy or possible for all of us.

This kind of collaborative new work space is an excellent initiative, it strives to repurpose some of our redundant town centre space so that people, and small businesses, can work in a local COVID safe sustainable environment which, as well as meeting this local need, supports other town centre businesses and reduces travel thus helps us achieve a more sustainable economy.

Dave Axam , EM3 Chair

The new ‘IncuHive Space’ on the fourth and fifth floors of Chantry House is aimed at small businesses, start‐ups and individuals working from home. It will be developed by IncuHive Group Limited, which specialises in offering business incubation and co-working centres with a creative twist, providing mentoring, investment, office space, networking and more – all with the aim of creating a diverse business community.

The proposal from IncuHive will see the refurbishment of more than 2,700 sq ft of commercial floorspace to create six individual office spaces and 30 rentable desks, together with a recreation area and reception facilities.

The move will mark the start of the journey towards a new era for Andover, which will see a greater mixture of work, living and leisure uses in the town centre.

The project is expected to take around five to six months to complete, with work set to begin in the coming weeks.  

We are incredibly grateful to the EM3 LEP for providing the funding to enable this project to deliver vibrant, modern and innovative new office space to go ahead. If anyone has seen other examples of IncuHive spaces they’ll know that they are really exciting, inviting and funky and are brilliant settings in which to work. This is great news for the town and is also a fantastic example of the benefits of working with partners to get the very best outcome for our communities.

The proposal is very much in line with our plans for the wider redevelopment of the town centre, which will see a greater mix of work and leisure uses, alongside traditional retail. The recent news about the Arcadia Group is testament to the changing face of high streets up and down the country and we must guard against that by creating a vibrant, diverse and robust town centre that is fit for the future.

 The proposal has been designed to comply with social distancing rules, and the council and IncuHive will put in place various precautions to safeguard users. In providing a local facility as an alternative to commuting to London, it will reduce the strain on public transport and assist with carbon reduction.

 The Andover project will be the first of three similar facilities created across the EM3 region with the next projects expected to be announced shortly. They are part of the LEP’s Economic Recovery Plan, Revive and Renew, details of which can be found here

Cllr Phil North , Leader, Test Valley Borough Council

The proposal has been designed to comply with social distancing rules, and the council and IncuHive will put in place various precautions to safeguard users. In providing a local facility as an alternative to commuting to London, it will reduce the strain on public transport and assist with carbon reduction.

The Andover project will be the first of three similar facilities created across the EM3 region with the next projects expected to be announced shortly. They are part of the LEP’s Economic Recovery Plan, Revive and Renew, details of which can be found here.

Where

Address:

Chantry Way
Andover
SP10 1LS
United Kingdom

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