Inside the bustling creative community that's been torn apart by bigger business
Anyone with a window desk on any of the three floors - or decks - at Pentire House, in the heart of Newquay, will tell you the view over Towan Beach and the surf as the tides roll in and out is amazing, but it's not why the co-working space matters.
The 47 co-working tenants, the creatives and freelancers, who have called the building home for the past four and a half years, will tell you, it is not just the bricks and mortar. It's the people in it and what they do individually and together that counts - it's a community.
A former Newquay Fish and Chip shop, Pentire House was set up nearly five years ago to create a space where website creators, filmmakers, designers and small start-up companies could rent a desk and professional facilities to hold meetings with clients without paying over the odds in business rates and rent.
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Whether the desks are rented by Newquay's transient community of creative workers or those who just started out in the business world, Pentire House is full and demand for co-working spaces in the seaside town is high especially since C-Space, which was based round the corner, has been sold and another hub is going the same way.
It leaves Ho House at Hope Yard but it is full and Desk Hop, but it's small. Among the cool and trendy creative businesses at Pentire House, you'll find web designers, playlist creators for hotels and supermarkets, music professionals, a sea bed analyst, marketing and PR professionals, documentary makers as well as environment activist charity Oceana headed by former Surfers Against Sewage boss Hugo Tagholm.
Last month, all of them were told they have until Christmas to get out because the landlords - even though Pentire House is successful and makes money - have decided they want more. If they have their way, all three floors will be turned into service office facilities with a view to be rented out to larger corporates.
Current residents at Pentire House have formed an alliance to save the building and its current use. They have a petition which you can view here.
Wakeless Production
Set up by Christian Aldridge, Wakeless Production is a TV and film production company which has worked on TV series as well as with charities and local brands on their promotional campaigns. "Pentire House is cheap so it's perfect for creatives like me and the transient community. But it's not just an office.
"When I moved to Newquay I didn't know anyone. Someone told me I needed to come and work at Pentire House. It's a real community of like-minded people. I made a lot of friends here. We're a community but we're also working for the wider community. We organise sea swims, beach litter picks. We have a nerdy book club. We go surfing together. What we do together extends beyond Pentire House to the wider town so it benefits people's mental and physical health."
Like most of the other co-workers we met at Pentire House, Christian said he would not be able to afford anywhere else. "It allows small businesses to continue their work and expand and create jobs too. It says it's an innovation hub on top of the door. It sounds a bit pretentious but I guess we do. We collaborate together and are able to bounce ideas off each other and support each other and innovate."
Christian moved from London to Newquay three years ago for a lifestyle change and certainly does not regret the move. He added: "All the TV work tends to be in the big hubs like London, Bristol or Manchester but there is a push to bring that work to other places in the UK. Cornwall and places like Pentire House can do that.
"We're not against the landlords of Pentire House. We just want them to reconsider. We don't know what the restructure will look like. It will be a serviced office rented out to a larger company from out of town, maybe. But one thing for sure, even if all banded together, we couldn't afford to stay here because the business rate and rent is too high."
Like the others we spoke to, Christian worries the sense of like-minded community he has found at Pentire House will be lost if all 47 co-workers are forced to leave. "There was a certain amount of panic when we all received that email in September, that's for sure," Christian added. "We could work from home I guess but I think we'd end up splitting up. The view is lovely. But it's not about the view. It's about this community we've built."
Atlas Films Co.
Sam Davies also moved away from London to Newquay three years ago for the lifestyle benefits Cornwall has to offer. As a film-maker, he wanted to engage with his local town and its community and have a business that grows within the local economy.
"As a filmmaker, I'm inspired to tell stories of hope and change," he said. "I love living in a community where you can hear stories from people. That's been a real passion of mine." Over the past few years Sam has worked with local residents he met working in cafes and bars and trained them up as documentary makers.
"Having a space here at Pentire House allowed me to engage with people in the town to tell me their story. When I started out in this industry some people opened doors to me. I guess I have been returning the favour and giving other people that same opportunity I had."
Some of the people who have worked with Sam at Atlas Films are now training to become general production assistants, while another is setting up their own production company.
Over the years, Sam has done micro brand documentaries for local businesses, has helped to shine a spotlight on some of Cornwall's Olympians and also helped larger businesses tell their own stories.
He added: "We received that email saying that the landlord had made the decision to change Pentire House to a serviced office, and we needed to leave.
"That came as a shock. I have had to move to Ho House coworking space. The challenge is that there is a true community here. A lot of the relationships I have built have been through this space. It's quite damaging to us to have to go off elsewhere.
"We're all Newquay residents so it will have a domino effect in that it will remove opportunities for local people and the town. When I first moved to Cornwall I worried it might be a disaster for my clients but covid opened co-working opportunities for a lot of people and it's been great. We need places like Pentire House. They provide opportunities that extend beyond the town."
Design and hypnotherapy coaching
Sarah Cavill works remotely for a design agency and is a hypnotherapist coach who moved to Newquay two years ago specifically because of Pentire House. "I was looking for a change in lifestyle," she said. "I wanted to move closer to nature.
"When I was looking at Newquay I found this place. It was exactly what I was hoping for. In fact I booked this place even before I arrived. It was very much part of why I wanted to move down here."
She added: "It's right by the beach. I can go for a swim in the sea on my lunch break or after work. It was quiet at the start but over the last two years it has grown. It's completely surpassed my expectations. I met some new people and my new professional network has come from this place.
"It's really sad we're having to leave. It's the people. It's the activities we do together outside. I can't imagine my life without this place. It means that much to me."
Papaya-Studio
Set up by Nathan Hambling, Papaya-Studio is a web design company that moved to Pentire House a year ago. Nathan, who has been in the town for the past two years, said he was aware of the coworking place before he even moved to Newquay. "I was aware it had this strong community of people, freelancers, and small businesses," Nathan said. "I wanted to surround myself with people who work in a similar way and have a similar mindset."
"We share ideas and help each other. It's truly collaborative. You don't get that working from home. In all honesty, since being in this building it's been the most successful year my business has had. I work with NGOs and purpose-led businesses and charities and now I have started working with bigger charities too. My clients love coming here.
"The professionalism this office space offers has allowed me to win out of county clients and position myself as a credible business even if I'm based in Cornwall. It certainly helped Newquay feel like home."
He added: "It feels like an important part of my community and the local community is being disrupted quite a lot with this decision. We discussed setting up our own coworking space but it takes a lot of time and money."
Mokita Learning
Sam Kammerling has been in Pentire House for the last 12 months. He works to help businesses improve their work culture and supports organisations to be kinder and more humane so work does not add to the mental health crisis sweeping through our society. He co-founded Mokita Learning out of frustration with traditional workplace training and organisational development.
A vanlifer now looking for a place of his own to call home, he said Pentire House was an affordable way to have his 'own office'. A keen surfer, knowing the coworking hub overlooks Newquay Bay was certainly part of his decision to move in - and to his own admission, so to was having access to showers.
"It's so much more than that," Sam added. "I have met some wonderful friends here. We have activities together. I run the book club. We've done beach cleans together, even dancing classes.
"The big thing for me is the community and the people I have around me. I've had lots of support. We all help each other. It is hard to set up a business on your own. That's why coworking spaces like this place are so important. For me it's like a home. I love Newquay and I love this place. It's what's connected me to Newquay."
Tom Pugh-Jones, the founder of Mor-Search, which was behind the initial Pentire House project, said he's one of three directors who have been voted out before the decision was taken to turn out the residents of Pentire House and make way for a corporate office.
He is not happy. He said he too feels and sad that what the project originally set out to be - ie a co-working space for the community of Newquay - will be destroyed in the name of profit.
"Pentire House is making money," Tom said. "But the other shareholders want more. They're trying to profit maximise the space. I wanted to keep everyone there but the other shareholders do not have the same empathy for the community and want to make more money. It is a shame. When we went into this it was all about community and collaboration. I hope they have some empathy and come to their senses."
To check out the petition to save Pentire House visit https://www.change.org/p/protect-pentire-house-a-lifeline-for-newquay-s-entrepreneurs-and-small-businesses.