A new strategy to develop the arts and cultural scene in North Tyneside has been formally adopted by North Tyneside Council’s Cabinet.
The Cultural Plan for North Tyneside sets out how the council and its partners will work together to transform the borough’s cultural offer and spark a cultural renaissance over the next seven years (2023-2030).
The document, the first of its kind in North Tyneside, aims to boost the culture sector through a range of projects and new partnerships, attract inward investment, support the arts, and ensure that everyone can access and enjoy cultural activities.
It outlines how culture can be used to drive economic growth and shape the council’s regeneration plans for the borough, an approach already evident in the masterplans for North Shields and Wallsend and the creation of the new Cultural Quarter for North Shields and the redevelopment of Segedunum.
The strategy was developed following an extensive consultation exercise and in collaboration with dozens of organisations, including cultural groups, artists, and practitioners.
Councillor Carl Johnson, Deputy Mayor of North Tyneside, introduced the report at the Cabinet’s meeting on Monday (May 22).
He said: ““Culture is vital for both our health and wellbeing and an important contributor to job creation and our local economy.
“Cultural activity in North Tyneside is by no means starting from a blank sheet. There are a host of active organisations and individuals delivering excellent work, but this plan provides the platform from which the sector can be more effectively galvanised to work in partnership to transform and improve the cultural life of North Tyneside even further.
“It acknowledges that in North Tyneside we recognise the importance of culture for our economy and for our communities and that we must work with a range of partners in the public, private, and voluntary sectors to deliver a strategy which is truly boroughwide.
“The plan already has the active endorsement of a wide range of organisations in the cultural and community sector. Planning is underway to consider the first set of priorities for the enhancement of the cultural offer in the Borough, with a view to developing an action plan for the first two years.”
The strategy aligns with priorities set out in Our North Tyneside Plan and with Arts Council England’s guidance, in their 10-year pan Let’s Create, which emphasises the important of broad-based cultural partnerships, in developing the cultural offer for the benefit of residents and the economy.
The plan will be driven forward and monitored by a newly formed North Tyneside Cultural Partnership.
Katy Fuller, Director of Pinwheel and Chair of the North Tyneside Cultural Partnership said: “It’s extremely positive that the council initiated and has now adopted this cultural plan and, as the wider partnership, we can now begin the critical work of putting it into action to achieve real change for North Tyneside.
“By working in partnership across and beyond the cultural sector we can achieve a much greater momentum and impact as we gather together around shared priorities, such as equality of access to culture for all residents and creating the conditions for our artists and cultural organisations to thrive.”
