Arts and culture project between British Land and New Diorama Theatre demonstrates significant economic and social impact of providing affordable space

British Land and New Diorama Theatre have revealed the huge social and economic impact of their year-long NDT Broadgate initiative, which saw 20,000 sq ft of creative space provided to over 8,800 independent and freelance artists free of charge over 12 months.

An independent report by BOP Consulting has found the project generated £40m of additional revenue for the UK economy¹, including box office sales, funding from grant givers, increased revenue for supply chain partners, and greater expenditure by employees and visitors.

The initiative supported over 1,000 full-time jobs, including artists performing in shows created at NDT Broadgate, theatre workers and people employed in the supply chain and in local businesses.

NDT Broadgate ran between August 2021 to July 2022. It rapidly created one of the UK’s largest and most accessible art hubs, providing over 25 rehearsal spaces, writing rooms, co-working areas, recording booths and a sizable studio and workshop. It created over 250 original performances, many of which have since been shown at West End theatres, cultural venues and arts festivals across the UK.

Supporting those from historically marginalised and under-represented communities was central to NDT Broadgate’s mission. The report found that 51% of all projects at NDT Broadgate were led by artists who are Black, East Asian, South Asian or from the Global Majority.

NDT Broadgate was always designed to be temporary, making use of office space that became vacant ahead of redevelopment, so 97% of all fittings and furniture used were sourced second-hand, and 90% passed on to new homes at the end of the project, embracing a circular economy approach.

NDT Broadgate builds on British Land’s long history of creating lasting partnerships, engaging with the communities in and around its places, and providing significantly discounted or free space to community organisations, charities, social enterprises, and local small businesses. NDT Broadgate supports Thriving Places, a key pillar of British Land’s 2030 sustainability strategy: Greener Spaces, Thriving Places, Responsible Choices.

The full report, ‘The value of affordable space: Economic impact of NDT Broadgate, London’, can be found on British Land’s website here.

Simon Carter, Chief Executive of British Land, said: “Delivering a giant creative complex coming out of the pandemic was a bold step. The results exceeded our expectations, demonstrating the power of culture as a driver for economic and social growth. In tough times, it is often harder to invest in the arts. Yet, in the current cost-of-living crisis and with many creative companies struggling to survive, the arts have a more important role to play than ever in re-energising urban centres and local economies.

“Just as shows ‘Made at Broadgate’ travelled the length of the country, the opportunities highlighted by NDT Broadgate extend across the UK. We hope the evidence presented in this report encourages greater partnership across artists, cultural organisations, property companies, policymakers and local government.”

David Byrne, Artistic Director at New Diorama Theatre, said: “NDT Broadgate should not have been possible. In just one year, this radical project supported thousands of artists in the wake of the pandemic and returned £40m back to the UK economy.

“Without the bravery and commitment of British Land, New Diorama Theatre would not have survived lockdowns and NDT Broadgate would never have existed. When the pandemic hit, they were the first on the phone offering support. When we asked them to go further to support not just NDT but our whole industry, they answered our call. Together, we took a leap into the unknown – and along the way sparked a creative revolution that will go down in British theatre history.”

British Land recently launched a £25m Social Impact Fund, focused on education, employment and affordable space and comprising at least £15 million of cash contributions and £10 million worth of affordable space by 2030. This fund builds on over a decade of investment by British Land into the communities in which it operates.

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About British Land

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London Campuses and Retail & Fulfilment assets throughout the UK. We own or manage a portfolio valued at £14.1bn (British Land share: £9.6bn) as at 30 September 2022 making us one of Europe’s largest listed real estate investment companies.

We create Places People Prefer, delivering the best, most sustainable places for our customers and communities. Our strategy is to leverage our best in class platform and proven expertise in development, repositioning and active management, investing behind two key themes: Campuses and Retail & Fulfilment.

Our three Campuses at Broadgate, Paddington Central and Regent’s Place are dynamic neighbourhoods, attracting growth customers and sectors, and offering some of the best connected, highest quality and most sustainable space in London. We are delivering our fourth Campus at Canada Water, where we have planning consent to deliver 5m sq ft of residential, commercial, retail and community space over 53 acres. Our Campuses account for 65% of our portfolio.

Retail & Fulfilment accounts for 35% of the portfolio and is focused on retail parks which are aligned to the growth of convenience, online and last mile fulfilment. We are complementing this with urban logistics primarily in London, focused on development-led opportunities.

Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our approach is focused on three key pillars where British Land can create the most benefit: Greener Spaces, making our whole portfolio net zero carbon by 2030, Thriving Places, partnering to grow social value and wellbeing in the communities where we operate and Responsible Choices, advocating responsible business practices across British Land and throughout our supply chain, and maintaining robust governance structures.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com

About New Diorama Theatre

New Diorama Theatre is a pioneering London studio based on British Land’s Regent’s Place campus, providing a creative home for the country’s best independent theatre companies and ensembles and a trailblazing hub for early-career artist development.

Since opening in 2010, New Diorama’s work has received three prestigious Peter Brook Awards, seven OffWestEnd Awards, been named The Stage Fringe Theatre of The Year, OffWestEnd Artistic Director of the Year, won The Stage Innovation Prize and appeared in the Stage 100.

Work commissioned and produced at NDT frequently tours nationally and internationally, including regular transfers Off-Broadway. In 2022, NDT’s premiere production of For Black Boys Who Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy transferred to the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs for an extended, sold-out run; while previous NDT commission Operation Mincemeat also announced a West End transfer, playing at the Fortune Theatre from March 2023.

Last year, New Diorama also won The Stage’s 2022 Fringe Theatre of the Year Award, for the second time in the venue’s short history. The venue is also nominated for the 2023 Critics’ Circle Empty Space Venue Award.

¹This was calculated based on a survey of NDT Broadgate participants to quantify the extent of economic additionality they experienced. Revenue includes all additional revenue generated by NDT Broadgate. BOP Consulting calculated economic impacts in line with HM Treasury Green Book guidance. Full details are available in the report