‘Pencil Works’ Enterprise Hub Building
Pencil Works enterprise hub
We are creating a central focus through a new £6.2m building, called the Pencil Works, offering high-quality facilities to support the town aims of becoming a great place to visit, work and do business.
The building is projected to create 50 jobs and 1,000 square meters of new retail, leisure and office space.
Plans include:
Ground floor
- Creative makers’ space for specialist craftspeople and artists, publicly viewable from the roadside
- Retail units including for food/drinks outlets
- Public toilets (relocated from Cliffe Hill)
- Disabled parking and bicycle storage
First floor
- Flexible office space for small businesses
Subject to planning permission work would get underway in winter with completion in late 2025.
The architect’s visualisations are subject to change as plans develop over the coming months in partnership with local people.
A formal public consultation on the plans will take place in October 2024, including a drop-in event for local people to meet the team and ask questions.
The parking provision lost at Victoria Street will be replaced by a new carpark at 131 Derby Road.
The inspiration for the name has been taken from Stapleford’s historic F. Chambers & Company Limited Pencil Works factory which resided on Broad Oak Drive from 1915 until 1973. The company was the first to manufacture cosmetic pencils for Boots in 1931. While they sold their business in the 1990s, the Chambers’ family still produce pencils in Stapleford.