LEVELS | Whitehaven

In 2021, BEC acquired the landmark former Whittles Building in the heart of Whitehaven.

BEC are restoring and transforming this Grade II listed key building into a Digital & Gaming Hub, called LEVELS – a £4.1 million redevelopment programme, with £2.8m of that secured from Sellafield Ltd’s Social Impact Multiplied (SiX) scheme, £800k from BT and £485k from BEC.

LEVELS will provide both opportunity and inspiration for our young people to pursue careers in these high growth sectors, whilst also serving as a safe and accessible space for all.

The ground floor will be home to one of Cumbria’s first esports arenas and also VR demonstration areas with access to arcade games. There will also be a publicly accessible café, serving themed treats to enjoy whilst socialising and observing the activities across the building via large screen displays.

The first floor will focus on VR and simulation games – a place for individuals, families and groups to partake in new technologies. The second floor will offer educational facilities for use by local schools, colleges and interest groups. These will include motion capture and digital sound, with a top floor being a designated ‘screenless’ wind-down zone, for table top games and club hire.

The building will be fully DDA accessible, and the safety and security of the young people will be ensured via a low cost ‘membership’ scheme to control access to the gaming areas and age-related content.

LEVELS will work in conjunction with the Eagle Labs at our Bus Station development – offering wider business mentoring to young people (in particular) looking to progress into any aspect of the digital industries.

Planning and listed building approval was secured late 2021 and we are close to announcing our main contractor.

LEVELS is on track to open September 2025.

– Interior images taken and supplied by Gary McKeating.