CADS took on the lease for the The Abbeydale Picture House in January 2017, and we plan to continue the long-term restoration project to bring this incredible building back into full use. The project will consist of two stages:
Short term restoration, space-hire and events
CADS’ background is steeped in successful projects involving bringing dilapidated and disused buildings back into use – and this project is no different. Our intention is to continue the fantastic work undertaken by previous users of the building (Hand Of, Friends of Abbeydale Picture House), and the owner, Phil Robins, to make all of the spaces within the listed site safe, event ready and vibrant! This will ultimately include the balcony spaces, all former bar and restaurant areas, the backstage area and smaller rooms. Once full, the building will host studio space, event space, a licenced cafe and much more. We’re already part way through this part of the project but there’s a long way to go!
Alongside these efforts we’re applying for Heritage Lottery Funding to undertake the full restoration of the former ‘picture palace’. We’ll be exploring and researching the heritage of the building and its historical significance on a national scale, and have set up a Heritage Advisory Board headed by Professor Vanessa Toulmin (University of Sheffield) to help achieve this.
Across all the CADS buildings we look to utilise our spaces to fulfil both our core aims and our charitable objectives, and The Abbeydale Picture House will become a key crux of this. Our primary charitable use of the building will be providing subsidised space for the local community, social enterprises, charities and early- career creatives to use, and providing access to a diverse and inspiring range of arts and culture.
CADS (Creative Arts Development Space) is an organisation based in Sheffield formed of a charity CADS Trust and its wholly owned, subsidiary trading arm, CADS Space.
CADS Trust uses the profits form CADS Space and money raised through external funding or fundraising to achieve its three core aims: to provide, support and promote the arts. The charity prides itself on supporting start- ups and individuals setting out on their first steps into creative enterprise.
Crucially, our two key charitable objectives are:
. The provision of facilities for the promotion of and enjoyment of the arts
. The creation of training or employment opportunities by the provision of affordable workspace and support assisting those in creative fields to set up their own business.
You can find out more about the charity by visiting our main website [http://cads-online.co.uk/], and reading our latest Social Impact Report [https://issuu.com/cads_trust/docs/cads_online_social_impact_report_we]