LCB Depot is a service operated by Leicester City Council that seeks to support and develop the city’s creative industries. We offer
- Workspaces to lease to creative businesses at LCB Depot and Phoenix Square digital media centre, and from November 2012 at Rutland Street Studios
- Meeting rooms for hire
- Exhibition space for professional and emerging professional artists
- Networking events for creatives
- Enterprise support programmes for creatives
- the café/bar Refuel, open to the public Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm
LCB Depot is Leicester's
creative business centre, and is similar to initiatives that have been set up to support the creative industries in other towns and cities, such as the
Atkins Building in Hinckley, the
Workstation in Sheffield,
Round Foundry Media Centre in Leeds,
The Skiff in Brighton, the
Creative Media Centre in Hastings,
Banks Mill Studios in Derby,
The Greenhouse at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays,
The Media Centre in Huddersfield,
Portfolio in Northampton, the
Custard Factory in Birmingham, the
Baltic Triangle in Liverpool,
The Hub at Glasgow's Pacific Quay, the
Institute for Creative Enterprise in Coventry, and
Antenna in Nottingham.
Rutland StreetThe area local to us has a rich history and role to play in Leicester's past. We are located on Rutland Street – formerly known as Dogkennel Lane - which connects the city’s south east and east gateways of Granby Street and Humberstone Gate, and is the backbone road that passes through the heart of the new Cultural Quarter.
Previous occupants of 31 Rutland Street include:
1885 William Padmore, hosiery manufacturer
1904 Fire Engine Station
1938 Leicester City Lighting Department
The nearby Halford Street area used to be the city’s wholesale fruit, fish and vegetable market. The market building, built in 1902, was demolished in 1972 – its mermaid relief sculptures by William James Neatby have been relocated to the city’s West Bridge.
In 1969 the City of Leicester Transport Department (city office) opened at 31 Rutland Street in the purpose-built replacement for the City Council's transport office in Humberstone Gate that was pulled down to make way for the Haymarket Shopping Centre. The new Operating Centre at 31 Rutland Street contained Enquiries, Lost Property, Duty Office, Camera Control Centre, cash paying-In for crews, Staff Canteen, and on the top floor, a Transport Club with bars, dance hall, and stage.
To see photos and memories of the old transport office, visit Rob Haywood’s bus site
Cultural Quarter
In 1999, Leicester City Council’s creative vision led to the development of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter, which planned to revitalise the once run-down district of St. George’s (named after the Serbian Orthodox Church of St George in Rutland Street, built in 1826, now on English Heritage's 'at risk' list). The area was made a Conservation Area in 1989.
See more about regeneration of the Cultural Quarter on the One Leicester website
The Cultural Quarter is one of Leicester’s most acclaimed new developments. The area fuses together elements of Leicester’s more traditional architecture with a modern twist to create a cosmopolitan cultural environment. Its public realm is second to none - and the spaces in between are just as important - with integrated specially commissioned contemporary art revealing the area’s rich historic tapestry. See more about art in the Cultural Quarter here.
In 2003 the then-empty building at 31 Rutland Street was remodelled and expanded by architects Ash Sakula and opened in June 2004 as the Leicester Creative Business Depot, earning praise and two prestigious awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects. See Ash Sakula's brochure on the development of LCB Depot here.
The building has integrated artworks by Tony Stallard (neon), Metro-Boulot-Dodo (sound performance) and Faye Chamberlain (photography). The rear glass curtain wall of the main A block features artwork by Linda Schwab, called 'Seed Garden'. Developed in response to the function of the building as a site for the 'incubation' of new creative industries; the designs are based on the development of a planted seed - Germination - Growth - Pollination - Fruition.
The £4.75 million LCB Depot building kick-started the regeneration of the Cultural Quarter. The art deco Odeon cinema in Rutland Street, dating from 1936, became the conference and banqueting venue Athena in 2005. In December 2008 Curve theatre opened, and replaced The Haymarket as Leicester’s main performing arts venue. In November 2009 Phoenix Square digital media centre opened on the site of a former textile factory in Midland Street. .
Numerous bars, restaurants, office and living spaces have also been developed in the Quarter’s 19th and 20th century buildings, many of which began life as hosiery, footwear or clothing manufacturers, workshops or wholesalers.
Coming in November 2012...
Rutland Street Studios creative industries centre
