We began with a feasibility study and strategic brief, working with CAST's trustees to define what the building needed to become. The key moves were concentrated at ground floor: a new 57sqm café with a 12.5sqm commercial kitchen carved from underused space, with two existing windows converted to full-height doors opening onto a south-west facing terrace. A new external ramp to Penrose Road makes the building step-free for the first time, and accessible WC provision was incorporated as part of the café and kitchen works. In the rest of the building, former classrooms were converted into art studios, offices for CAST, and an artist’s residency. The former assembly hall and dining room, originally envisaged as flexible community space, secured separate funding to become a dedicated AV screening room.  The strategy formed the basis of a successful Arts Council England funding application.

Planning consent was secured for the external works with Cornwall Council supportive of bringing a locally listed building back into active use. Construction was delivered in collaboration with local conservation architect Alison Bunning.

The vision we set out in 2015 continues to shape CAST's development: new stairs connecting the building to the adjacent town museum are now under way, forming a small cultural quarter around the Penrose Road site. The café remains the most public element of the building, drawing visitors in from the town.