This cultural centre is about more than art, music, dance, drama, cinema and the rest. It is also a theatre of food. We have formed a central space by adding a contemporary structure to the retained Witham Hall and thereby doubling it in size.

This creates a simple, large, highly serviced shed which can be a place of exchange and of quick change: highly flexible as both a performance space and as a space for making, selling and celebrating food. Alongside is a really good catering kitchen, not hidden away but on display, a place where the chef can demonstrate unusual ingredients and techniques, enticing people to buy in the market and eat in the restaurant upstairs.

The main space is also a versatile and unconventional theatre which can operate in a variety of formats. It opens easily to the outside allowing promenade theatre, banquets and conference gatherings as well as more straightforward performances.