We’ve had a good showing of eccentric projects on Spacehive, including the creation of an enormous papier mache bust of the Queen, strapped to a barge, for a floating carnival in London, and the conversion of a derelict old Edinburgh phone box into a very small art gallery. The latest fantastical folly to battle the often impersonal monotony of our public spaces is just as daring.

Local residents in Frome, Somerset, have hatched a plan to transform an abandoned toilet block into a café and gallery space for local artists to exhibit their work. Leading the pledging frenzy is none other than Kevin McCloud – Channel 4’s Grand Designs presenter and a local resident!Kevin McCloud

Kevin pledged £300 towards the toilet transformation, alongside 62 other funders including Experian – our corporate match funder for town improvements. “Public space needs creativity,” he told Spacehive. “It needs art and it needs local involvement in order for it to thrive.

“Without these things, the spaces between buildings – the public areas that ought to be where we flourish as social creatures – will remain barren and mediocre. It’s human imagination, not concrete and tarmac, that make our towns and cityscapes enjoyable places”. We couldn’t agree more Kevin!

Find out more by listening to this Heart FM interview with the project promoter – Katy Duke – and if you fancy helping to make it happen, here’s the place to go!