Art charity 'delighted' as 25-year lease granted

Charleston Trust says since the opening of its new pop-up cultural centre in 2023 it has attracted more than 100,000 visitors

The director of an art charity has expressed his joy after a 25-year lease was granted for a pop-up cultural centre.

The Charleston Trust opened Charleston in Lewes 18 months ago.

The centre hosts art exhibitions and creative skills training programmes for students.

Nathaniel Hepburn, director of Charleston, said he was "delighted" after Lewes District Council approved the lease request at a recent cabinet meeting.

He said they would continue to work with partners "to ensure the benefits of art and culture are accessible to everyone".

He added: "The last 18 months have enabled us to build strong partnerships in the community and open up our charity's programmes to many families and young people."

The Charleston Trust runs The Charleston Farmhouse, which was once a gathering point for some of the 20th Century's most radical artists, writers and thinkers who were known as the Bloomsbury Group.

Zoe Nicholson, leader of Lewes District Council, said at the meeting it was "fundamentally important to fulfil a vision of opening a national gallery and new cultural centre in Lewes".

Mr Hepburn says that since the opening of Charleston in Lewes in 2023, it has attracted more than 100,000 visitors.