After ten years of success, Tate St Ives with Cornwall County Council is exploring a second phase development of the gallery on the Barnoon Car Park site to the rear of the building.
The development would allow Tate St Ives to offer more and better facilities for its visitors which, at peak times, are currently running at more than three times original estimates. The plans would include the creation of a new gallery space, a dedicated education space or ‘learning zone’ and an exhibition preparation and storage area. Within the current building, more permanent display space for works by St Ives artists as well as contemporary exhibitions by young emerging artists, would be provided.
Cornwall County Council will shortly start the process to appoint a design team to develop the concept into a fully costed scheme. Full consultation on the design process will take place once the design team has been appointed. Construction would start in the autumn of 2005, with completion in time for the 2007 season.
The project is being delivered through a partnership between Cornwall County Council, Penwith District Council and Tate. The principle objective is to sustain the economic benefit Cornwall has derived from Tate St Ives, the forerunner of other successful developments in Cornwall including the Eden Project and the National Maritime Museum. The emphasis will be on growing visitor numbers in the winter season.
Over two million people have visited Tate St Ives since it opened ten years ago - a million more than originally estimated. With a highly successful exhibitions and a thriving education programme, the gallery has been both a critical and a popular success. The Gallery currently caters for more than 240 school visits a year and also works with Tertiary Colleges inside and outside the country. It also supports a number of community initiatives in Cornwall and the South West. Research clearly demonstrates the positive impact that Tate St Ives has had on the local economy and tourism, with the gallery contributing millions to the Cornish Economy* and the total number of visits to Cornwall up 47% in the last ten years.