A NEW creative hub spread over five different venues is to be launched in a deprived part of Eastbourne.

The Devonshire Collective, to be based along Seaside Road, will provide artists’ studios, a workshop, gallery and cafe.

They will all be within minutes walking distance from one another and the project aims to integrate arts into the regeneration of Devonshire ward.

The Hippodrome Theatre and Leaf Hall have both agreed to be collaborative partners, plus there will be links to the nearby Towner Gallery.

It is part of the Driving Devonshire Forward initiative and will bring back to life previously empty shops, in turn supporting the business regeneration of the area and creating more jobs.

Project manager Christine Harmar said: "We are delighted to be part of such an exciting and inspirational project. Eastbourne is buzzing with creative energy and talent.

"People have been enormously encouraging and supportive of this initiative, which means that there is a real sense of ownership in the town."

The workshop space will be ready by the end of this month, the cafe and gallery is scheduled to open on November 17, and the studio spaces are expected to be ready to view by mid-November.

The makerspaces include The Print Room, which will enable participants to experience a variety of printmaking processes and will serve as a teaching facility to provide opportunities for beginners and experienced practitioners to further their understanding of printmaking.

The space will also be available for artists to produce limited editions and will be run by Eastbourne-based, professional artist Jan Turner.

The second makerspace will be a contemporary creative space for ceramics as a craft and art form, run by Eastbourne Studio Pottery.

Creatives who have expressed an interest in taking on studio spaces include 2D animator Plume Animation headed by Richard Jackson and painter and illustrator Liz Hankins.

More information can be found at devonshirecollective.co.uk