Creating new cultural facilities
Find tips and resources to help you create new cultural facilities, from street art walls to new theatres.
Steps for developers or local authorities
- Establish what kind of cultural infrastructure would be appropriate for the development:
- review Local Cultural Infrastructure Plans where they exist
- use the Cultural Infrastructure Map to understand the current borough make up
- review our research to understand more about specific needs of each sector
- contact the local authority culture and regeneration services
- review the Design Toolkit to understand high level design needs at the earliest possible stage.
- Develop an initial building specification involving experts.
- Select an operator.
- Develop the specification of the building further meeting the needs of the operator.
- Apply for Outline Planning Permission. It is advisable to include the detailed specification within the planning permission. This should be more detailed that the outline size of the building.
Although these multiple stages are all crucial to creating new cultural infrastructure, this is often not a linear process. Some steps will occur at the same time.
Steps for cultural organisations or businesses
- Develop a business plan.
- Create a governance structure.
- Find a building or a site.
- Assess the financial feasibility of the site – this might be rental terms, service charges, build and fit out costs.
- Engage and consult with the local community – this could include key stakeholder’s such as residents, businesses for example via business improvement districts, neighbourhood associations and community groups, local schools, local anchor institutions, etc.) (local authority, prospective audience members, potential operators, investors and development partners).
- Develop the design of your facility with a team of experts (architects, engineers and specialist consultants).
- Find capital funding.
- Apply for planning permission.
Although these multiple stages are all crucial to creating new cultural infrastructure, this is often not a linear process. Some steps will occur at the same time.
Finding an operator
Develop a brief
Developing an open brief for circulation, much like a job advert, enables prospective operators to come forward. This should include as much detail about the site as you can provide, for example:
- what you wish to achieve by including a cultural operator
- the rent range that you with to achieve, keep in mind that the sum that you ask for will impact the tenant that you can engage
- the size and location of the site
- if the plot is for lease or purchase
- what fit out is intended within the plot
- if there are any ancillary uses possible such as cafes and retail associated with the cultural use
- lease length.
You should ask respondents for:
- an outline of what the cultural organisation does and intends to use the premises for
- how they meet the objective of the development
- a business plan.
This opportunity can be circulated via networks including Arts Council England, London Councils culture newsletter, local arts networks. Low cost paid advertising can also be taken in trade publications such as The Creative Land Trust, The Stage and Artists Newsletter.
Many local authorities also hold approved providers list held by boroughs.
Engage with stakeholders
These include:
- local authority arts, culture and regeneration services may be aware of local organisations who are looking for a new building. Many hold operator lists that they can provide you with
- organisations who represent different areas of cultural infrastructure including the Theatres Trust and the Music Venue Trust.
Cultural consultants
Cultural consultancies can also assist you with developing a brief and achieving the outcome you are looking for.
Funding
Regeneration funding for cultural infrastructure
The Mayor is investing in arts and culture through regeneration funds. These include the Good Growth Fund, the Mayor Sadiq Khan's £70m regeneration programme to support growth and community development in London, and have been used to support a number of cultural projects across the capital.
Crowdfund London gives you the opportunity to pitch new ideas - big or small - for community-led projects to make your local area even better. The best could attract a pledge of up to £50,000 from the Mayor, who wants to back crowdfunding campaigns that demonstrate local support. If you get a pledge and then hit your target, we’ll support you to bring your idea to life. The Good Growth Fund is
The Creative Land Trust
The Creative Land Trust is a new independent Trust has been launched to protect and increase affordable artist workspace following the decline in artist studios in the capital. The Creative Land Trust is an independent organisation that will provide financing for affordable workspace providers to buy buildings and will purchase its own property to be used as permanent workspaces for artists in London.
It aims to secure 1,000 affordable workspaces in its first five years, helping artists to flourish and helping to maintain London’s status as an international cultural capital.
Section 106 Agreements
The purpose of a Section 106 Agreement is to mitigate the impact of development, and they must be necessary, directly related to the development, and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development. Where it meets these tests, it may be proposed to the developer that the Section 106 Agreement should provide Cultural Infrastructure.
The agreement itself typically sets out the legal terms and conditions for the provision of the Cultural Infrastructure proposed. For more support download the A to Z of Planning and Culture.
Other funding opportunities
Arts Council England are one of the other main funders of the arts in London:
Setting up and running a venue
Setting up and running a grassroots music venue in the current climate can be challenging.
The Music Venue Trust has produced two free downloadable guidance documents to support individuals and organisations wanting to open a grassroots music venue and once they have, how to run one.
The guides are intended to be practical and straightforward, while linking to supporting materials both in the document and to online resources. Their production has been supported by the Mayor of London, as part of the Cultural Infrastructure Plan, and Ticketmaster.
Useful resources
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