PLANS to rejuvinate the Wildman Street area of Kendal into a creative arts hub have been given the go-ahead by South Lakeland District Council, ensuring the future of a well-known 14th century landmark.

The project will see Kendal College build a new £2.2 million state of the art performing arts centre - with its groundbreaking ‘twisted cube’ design - while the grade 1 listed Castle Dairy will be converted into an art gallery to work in tandem with Kendal Museum.

The arts building - partially glazed and clad in Burlington slate - will house a performance space, recording studios and light and sound facilities.

When the dairy reopens in September after a new roof is added, the dairy will provide space for students, local artists and school pupils to sell their artwork, while visitors to the museum - taken over by the college last year - can visit the new patisserie.

Principal Graham Wilkinson explained that a survey of museum visitors found that they wanted “somewhere to have a cup of tea and a cake” after their visit.

“We felt this was the perfect place for that and it will look fantastic - it will be a great asset to the town,” he said.

“We are the first college in the country to have a working museum, and we use that every Thursday for courses ranging from taxidermy to geology. We are working on a new foundation degree programme in cultural heritage and curatoreship, so by September, people will be able to study for that in a working museum.”

Approval was given to the project despite opposition to the performing arts centre from Kendal Town Council, which felt its design and building materials were inapropriate for such a historic area.

Concerns were also raised about car parking by Michael and Sara Batty, whose property Beezon Lodge, on Beezon Road, shares a border with the college’s Wildman Street development.

Mr Wilkinson said: “I don’t envisage parking to be a problem. In terms of noise, we have employed the very best sound engineers and I think any concerns will be eradicated in the design. The slate cladding is 20mm thick and we’ve spent £100,000 on sound proofing equipment and rubber dampeners so I do not think excess noise should be a problem.”

Brendan Jameson, leader of SLDC, welcomed the project.

“This is an opportunity for that area of Kendal to be regenerated from both an architectural and cultural point of view,” he said.

“I think their plan is fascinating.”

Meanwhile, a working group is preparing a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for up to £1 million funding to upgrade the dairy and the museum.

It is hoped that the next phase of the college’s development, which would cost about £3 million and would see old warehouses in Wildman Street demolished and replaced by new buildings, will follow in the future if extra funding can be secured.