Up to £2.5million in funding to complete a detailed business case for a new Centre for Music in the Square Mile has been given the go-ahead today by the City of London Corporation’s Court of Common Council.
At the heart of the vision for the Centre for Music, originated by the partners - the Barbican Centre, London Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2014 - are proposals for a world-class concert hall for the digital age and an ambitious, educational offer to bring music-making to the widest possible audience.
The business case will test whether it is viable to build the centre on part of the 140–150 London Wall site, which currently houses the Museum of London and Bastion House.
The proposal to create a Centre for Music was the subject of a Government-funded feasibility study in 2015. This was followed by funding for business case work. However, in November 2016, the Government announced that it was withdrawing its funding for the detailed study.
The detailed business case will be completed by December 2018 and will be subject to periodic reviews by the City prior to this date, and a final decision on whether to go forward with the project will then be taken by the City of London Corporation.
The preferred site for the Centre for Music, which the City of London Corporation has agreed in principle to make available, is currently occupied by the Museum of London, but will become available when the Museum of London fulfils its ambition to move to a larger site at West Smithfield.