BUILDERS are due to start work on the Cheese and Grain’s new rehearsal and recording studio this week.
The half-million pound project is funded by the Big Lottery’s Power to Change programme and the Bert Jansch Foundation, topped up with a loan financed entirely by income coming from the Cheese and Grain’s roof-top solar panels.
The scheme has the full and enthusiastic backing of both Frome Town Council and Mendip District Council and this means that the lease for the building is extended for another 25 years. Priority for its use will go to local bands and young people.
Because the Cheese and Grain is community owned and not-for-profit, the scheme will provide access to studio facilities that otherwise would be unaffordable.
A local building firm, Biggs, won the contract against stiff opposition. Steve Macarthur, Cheese and Grain director, said he was delighted that the “work was going to a local company employing local people. Fine carpentry is an important part of the work and it’s great that we still have these skills.”
Building work should be completed by the end of May 2018. People interested in using the studio should register an interest by e-mailing office @cheeseandgrain.com