BERKELEY is becoming a centre for the arts as another creative venture launches in the town.

Art at Play, run by Paulette English, recently opened on the High Street in the site of the former Break charity shop.

This is the latest in a string of new creative businesses that have opened in the town, including TomatoJack Arts and Impatient Vagrant.

Mrs English, 49, from London, is hoping to move close to Berkeley but has launched her business whilst still returning home once a week.

Her premises are open from Tuesday to Saturday.

She has been coming to Berkeley since 2009 to visit friends in the area, when she had the idea to open an arts site there.

"I realised something was missing," she explained. "I see so many children in Berkeley sitting on the benches in the afternoon and evening, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

"London is overpopulated in terms of creativity. I decided to bring my experience to Berkeley."

With a background in interior design, Mrs English has no end of inspiration for her projects.

A multi-purpose space, Art at Play offers creative opportunities, from arts and crafts to pottery, as well as individual tuition tailored to the users needs. This ranges from teenagers wanting to learn how to draw cartoons to students getting help with the art portfolios. Mrs English is also offering a mother and baby-changing area and hopes the centre will be used by older people wanting to get out of their homes.

She said she hopes to work collaboratively with the other local artistic centres.

Everyone is welcome to come to an open evening on at Art at Play on Friday, December 14 at 6pm. Visit Artatplay.co.uk for more information.