Work to transform St Stephen's Church in Arras Square Ipswich into a live music venue begins

Work has begun on the transformation of a church into a new live music venue.

St Stephen's Church in Arras Square, Ipswich, close to Buttermarket Shopping Centre, is being converted into a live music and community entertainment venue which will have a capacity of 225 people.

The church, owned by Ipswich Borough Council, will double up as a café during the day and will host events and exhibitions. Live music will be performed in the evenings.

Work on the Grade II listed building, which is being carried out by local contractor Mixbrow Construction in collaboration with Historic England, includes installing new toilets and emergency exists, as well as adding sound proofing, sound equipment and a stage area.

Suffolk Public Sector Leaders have supported the project with £300,000 from the Suffolk Inclusive Growth Investment Fund (SIGIF).

Once complete, the venue will be run by Sounds East CIC, a not-for-profit organisation formed by the team behind Out Loud Music who operate the Smokehouse on South Street and organised Sound City events in 2019 and 2021.

Councillor David Ellesmere, Leader of Ipswich Borough Council and Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Property, said: "This is an exciting development for our town, offering a new meeting venue by day and music venue by night for the benefit of all Ipswich residents.

"It’s great to see this important church building in the centre of our town being brought back to life as a community space – bringing people together to enjoy music."

Joe Bailey, Director of Sounds East CIC, said: "The Sound City Ipswich festivals and our ongoing events at The Baths and The Smokehouse have proved the need for more live music infrastructure and cultural spaces in Ipswich.

"We’re delighted to help create what we think will be a game changing, iconic venue for the town."

Karen Chapman, Partnership Manager at Suffolk Growth, said: "We are excited to see the start of this innovative repurposing of St Stephen’s church in the heart of Ipswich and welcome the additional economic impact the use of local contractors will bring.

"This is the type of regeneration project that Suffolk Public Sector Leaders anticipated from the Suffolk Inclusive Growth Investment Fund delivering long term, sustainable growth, and employment opportunities.

"We look forward to the launch of a vibrant new cultural and live music centre in 2023 that will boost the visitor and night-time economy in Ipswich and across Suffolk as a whole."

The work is set to complete in spring 2023 and doors will open in the run up to ‘Brighten The Corners Festival’ in June.