Creative Industries, House of Lords, 6 February 2025

• The LGA’s independent commission on culture and local government found that local cultural infrastructure is critical to providing a pipeline of talent for the creative industries, allowing professionals to develop their practice and secure a degree of job security through a balanced portfolio of public and private projects. 
• The UK creative industries sector contributed £124.6 billion of Gross Value Added to the UK economy in 2022. The sector accounted for 5.7 per cent of UK gross valued added and it has seen a 6 per cent growth since 2019. The sector employed 2.4 million people in the UK in 2023, signifying the ongoing development in the industry. 
• Local government has a core role in supporting inclusive economic growth and the creative industries. Strategic investment in creative clusters and corridors will support councils to help this growth industry thrive and expand in their areas. However, this must not be at the expense of provision of local cultural services
• Productivity is higher in the arts and culture sector (with gross value added per job around 30 per cent higher) than for the economy overall in the UK. But arts and culture also help other sectors and the presence of arts and cultural organisations are associated with higher levels of productivity with neighbouring businesses. 

Councils at all levels, including Combined Authorities recognise the importance and the potential of the Creative Industries in their local areas. Their ability to contribute to the local economy through jobs and growth, as well as enhancing an area’s reputation, being a source of civic pride amongst local communities and driving aspiration, particularly amongst young people, make a substantial difference to both council income and the quality of life of their residents.  Whilst there are several areas of good practice, such as in West Yorkshire, Sheffield, and Hammersmith and Fulham, there is significant opportunity to improve, develop and realise benefits across many more council areas through a coordinated government approach to investment and marketing.

Creativity is a highly valued skill, contributing to problem solving, innovation and improved communication. It is set to become more important in future careers as we adjust to the opportunities presented by and the impact of Artificial Intelligence.  The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey reported that 73 per cent of organisations valued creative thinking skills as a top priority. The Creative Industries and Cultural Education are therefore closely linked. Many Local Cultural Education Partnerships lead work on Creative Careers and the Arts Council and Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) have funded Discover! A Creative Careers Programme which aims to showcase Creative Careers in 77 priority areas in England. 

Devolution of skills and jobs funding to new strategic authorities offers the potential to further unlock this pipeline of creative talent. However, this must sit alongside the value of local councils and their delivery of cultural services as part of the foundational economy of the creative industries. 

Council economic development services provide direct support to new and emerging business in the creative industries sector to ensure a pipeline of new creative businesses leading to growth in the local area. A number of services are provided by Councils are critical to the success of the creative industries, for example, planning, licencing or other regulation and training and skills development.

• Cultural Strategy: Developing or updating a cultural strategy is a key first step for councils aiming to support their local creative economy. The Local Government Association’s ‘Cultural Strategy In A Box’ provides a framework for crafting a tailored strategy that aligns with local needs and priorities. A well-defined cultural strategy enhances the likelihood of securing funding from bodies like Arts Council England, as it demonstrates a strategic commitment to cultural development. Furthermore, strategic partnerships with combined authorities and independent cultural institutions can amplify social and economic outcomes. Conversely, councils without a cultural strategy risk lacking a cohesive cultural vision and missing out on valuable funding opportunities.
• Planning: Integrating the needs of the creative economy into planning policies is essential for fostering a thriving cultural sector. The National Planning Policy Framework’s ‘Agent of Change’ principle, introduced in 2018, places the onus on developers to mitigate noise impacts from existing cultural venues. Councils must ensure these protections are reflected in design specifics, such as soundproofing and building layouts. Additionally, councils can refuse automatic permitted development rights near cultural sites and use planning conditions to deliver creative infrastructure through Section 106 obligations or the Community Infrastructure Levy. Effective planning can also mitigate gentrification by safeguarding affordable spaces for creative practitioners, ensuring long-term sustainability of the local creative economy.
• Licensing: Councils can leverage licensing powers to nurture the local creative economy and shape vibrant communities. Under the Licensing Act 2003, councils are responsible for setting and enforcing their statement of licensing policy (SLP), which regulates licensable activities and outlines expectations for licence holders. The SLP offers an opportunity to strategically support creative activities, such as encouraging new venues or nightclubs in designated areas. Licensing policies can promote a safe, diverse night-time economy, benefiting local businesses and residents alike. Councils play a pivotal role in facilitating dialogue between stakeholders, ensuring the voices of creative enterprises are included in policy discussions and decision-making processes.

Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) has positioned culture as a cornerstone of its Strategic Economic Plan, recognising that investment in culture and creativity is integral to economic regeneration. While the sector in Tees Valley is relatively small, its organisations have national reach and impact. The recent rebranding of TVCA's 'Culture & Tourism' theme to 'Creative Place' reflects an increased emphasis on the economic potential of the creative industries, aiming to stimulate growth and harness the region's distinct cultural assets. TVCA has launched a £20 million Growth Programme for the Creative and Visitor Economies, focusing on sustainable cultural industry growth, festivals, destination development, and raising the region’s profile. The programme seeks to develop a creative cluster, leveraging local strengths in TV, music, visual arts, and festivals. Tees Valley's designation as a priority place by Arts Council England, the only combined authority to hold this status, further underscores the region’s ambition to enhance inward investment, transform perceptions, and foster a thriving creative economy.

Since Channel 4’s relocation to Leeds in 2019, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has leveraged £1.5 million from the Growing Places Fund to stimulate its creative industries. WYCA launched four targeted programmes: the Accelerator programme supporting 26 film, TV, and gaming companies; an export support initiative for creative screen industries; a mentoring scheme for mid-level talent retention; and Creative Collectives, promoting regional sector awareness.

Under Mayor Tracy Brabin’s leadership, WYCA has embedded culture at the heart of its economic strategy through a Creative New Deal with 10 pledges focused on sector growth, funding, and festival development. A dedicated culture committee, chaired by the Mayor, meets bi-monthly to shape a regional cultural framework. Networking initiatives, such as the New Monday group, foster collaboration, though there is recognition of the need for a broader strategic approach across the sector.

Inward investment is encouraged through the #Welcome grant for businesses relocating to the region, though WYCA acknowledges the need to balance capital funding with revenue support to reflect diverse creative business models. The region’s creative sector plays a vital role in placemaking, with events like Leeds 2023 City of Culture and Bradford 2025 driving economic activity, tourism, and regional identity.

Lessons highlight the importance of flexible funding structures, strategic geographic recruitment to foster regional equity, and recognising the creative sector’s wider economic impact in attracting investment and talent. Moving forward, WYCA aims to strengthen its strategies, enhance delivery capacity, and address the region’s creative skills gap to sustain growth and productivity.

Warwick District Council recently announced the launch of their refreshed Creative Framework.  The Creative Framework is a five-year strategy that aims to accelerate creative sector growth and maximise its impact across Warwick district through partnership and collaborative working. It provides a collective vision for creative communities to unite around and outlines how they can shape and influence how the sector is defined in the future. Developed following consultation with over 400 creative business and organisations (2019 and 2024), and informed by a creative sector impact study, the framework highlights how the sector already contributes to the identity and prosperity of the district and proposes new ways in which stakeholders might support creative industries to continue to grow. 

Over the past five years, the district has seen the emergence of creative hubs. These hubs are crucial for fostering the local creative community by offering dedicated spaces for collaboration, business development, and networking opportunities. They also provide a platform for community engagement, helping creatives connect with each other and with broader audiences, which can lead to more vibrant local culture and economic growth.

Warwick District Council has also championed Creative Industries by advocating how it contributes to health and wellbeing. Society and the economy. The Spark Symposium has been a key event in Warwick District’s creative community since its inception in February 2020. Over five years, it has attracted more than 2,000 participants from across the district’s four towns and beyond, with the goal of turning creative ideas into action and promoting the growth of the creative sector. The symposium has hosted 42 panel discussions featuring over 100 influential speakers on topics pertinent to the local creative industries. It has also offered more than 15 professional development workshops, designed to meet the needs of the sector, along with several artist commissions. The event’s marketplace allowed local creative individuals and organisations to showcase their work, while free lunch and refreshments fostered networking opportunities.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has embarked on a significant transformation, refreshing its governance and strategic direction with a renewed focus on the cultural and creative industries. Under the leadership of Mayor Dr Nik Johnson, CPCA is developing a comprehensive strategy for culture and creative arts, recognising their critical role in driving economic growth, productivity, and community development across the region.

CPCA established a Growth Company to deliver targeted support for creative industries, focusing on three core areas: inward investment, business coaching, and skills development. These initiatives are designed to foster innovation, attract investment, and equip the local workforce with the skills needed to thrive in creative sectors.

CPCA has invested in improving community spaces across market towns and rural areas, reflecting the changing dynamics of remote work and the need for vibrant local hubs. These projects have supported creative offers in local communities, contributing to economic resilience and social cohesion.

In the medium to long term, CPCA’s ambitions are shaped by its evolving strategy, which actively incorporates input from creative sector stakeholders. The combined authority aims to strengthen connections with local creative industries and clusters, tailoring financial support to nurture social enterprises within the creative economy. The second phase of the Market Towns Project, for instance, will focus on expanding creative opportunities beyond core cities like Ely to the broader region.

Challenges and Strategic Solutions

CPCA has faced several challenges, including resource constraints, fluctuating funding allocations due to changes in mayoral leadership, and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors have necessitated a strategic refresh, with an emphasis on economic recovery and resilience.

A key solution lies in finalising CPCA’s Cultural Strategy alongside its Economic Growth Strategy. This integrated approach will align local efforts with the Levelling Up agenda, identifying core interventions that support the creative sector. It will also strengthen CPCA’s case to government and funders for sustained support.

Levelling Up and Future Growth

The Levelling Up agenda presents significant opportunities for CPCA, particularly in securing funding for regeneration projects like the Peterborough Station Quarter. Such developments are expected to enhance the cultural landscape, boost job creation, and drive productivity growth in both urban and rural areas.

The strategic refresh offers CPCA a unique opportunity to rethink its engagement with creative industries from the ground up. By learning from best practices across the Mayoral 10 group, particularly from the West of England Combined Authority, CPCA aims to identify regional strengths, key clusters, and strategic players to further develop its creative economy.

Bradford is poised to experience a significant boost to its economic growth, including the creation of thousands of new jobs, as final preparations are underway for its designation as the UK City of Culture 2025. An additional £5 million in funding takes the amount of economic support for Bradford’s year to £15 million, helping the Bradford Culture Company deliver a programme of events and support a legacy of cultural regeneration.

It will also encourage the next generation of creatives with 6,000 training opportunities expected across the district and Bradford expecting to create 6,500 new jobs as a result of being UK City of Culture.

Leeds City Council has leveraged its strong cultural foundations to fuel growth in the creative industries. The city boasts unique cultural assets, including its own opera, theatre, and ballet companies, the largest dance hub outside London, and a thriving music scene spanning classical, jazz, and rock. It is also an emerging international centre for sculpture and a key player in creative education, with nearly 10,000 students enrolled in creative courses across six Higher Education Institutions, rivalled only by Manchester/Salford in the north.

Following the UK’s exclusion from the European Capital of Culture 2023 competition—despite investing £1 million in a bid—Leeds repurposed its efforts into developing a long-term Cultural Strategy running until 2030 and launching its own year of culture, Leeds 2023. This strategic pivot paid off, with Channel 4 relocating its headquarters to the city in 2018.

The council views the creative industries as central to its broader policy goals, linking the Cultural Strategy with the Inclusive Growth Strategy, the Best Council Plan, the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the Child Friendly Leeds and Young People’s Plan. To strengthen leadership, the council leader holds the portfolio for both economic development and culture.

A key focus has been addressing the shortage of affordable creative workspaces. Research commissioned by the council highlighted gaps in city-centre and fringe areas, with private developers unlikely to invest without public support. In response, the council launched a £1 million Creative and Digital Workspace Fund, supporting three projects in priority fringe wards, two of which are part of a broader regeneration scheme to establish a creative hub near the city centre.

Leeds City Council has also played a pivotal role in convening stakeholders, establishing the Leeds Culture Trust to deliver Leeds 2023 and supporting initiatives like Music:Leeds and the Leeds Digital Festival, the largest tech event in the north. Since 2010, employment in the city’s creative industries has grown by 42 per cent, and the council aims to sustain this momentum. By 2030, Leeds envisions culture and creativity embedded in vibrant neighbourhoods, promoting intercultural dialogue and supporting diverse communities. However, rising property values continue to outpace arts funding, underscoring the need for affordable spaces to sustain creative growth.

Luton Council, in partnership with local stakeholders, has strengthened its support for creative enterprises as part of a broader strategy to diversify the town’s night-time economy. This has been achieved through a combination of updated licensing policies, strategic inward investment initiatives, and a dynamic events programme.

The Town Centre Framework Plan identified eight key development areas, including the creation of a new cultural quarter. Luton’s revised licensing policy incorporates a matrix of ‘stress areas’ designed to align with and support these developments, contributing to a more vibrant town centre. Public confidence has been further bolstered by initiatives such as the Business Improvement District, which has attracted new inward investment.

The council has also collaborated with the University of Bedfordshire to provide incubator opportunities for creative businesses, offering affordable rents and short-term leases in the town’s historic hat factories. This approach has helped foster a thriving arts and culture scene.

To drive this growth, the council appointed a cultural enabler tasked with implementing the town’s artistic vision. This role involves coordinating with local organisations, artists, and practitioners, as well as leading the newly established Luton Creative Forum to further support the creative sector.

Zahraa Shaikh

Public Affairs Support Officer

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