NATIONAL DRIVERS REGIONAL PRIORITIES LOCAL PRIORITIES PRACTICAL TOOLS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CASE STUDIES FURTHER INFORMATION

Increasing economic prosperity and employment

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Culture lies at the heart of successful places, successful economies and successful communities. It gives people opportunities to learn skills, to express their identities and to share experiences. It gives them a sense of community and a stake in the places where they live. Places which are seen as having a strong cultural identify are also seen as successful and attractive to the skilled and enterprising as places to visit, work in, live in and invest in.’
Demonstrating the case for culture, South East England Development Agency and South East Cultural Observatory 2007

Culture and sport bring economic benefits. They provide employment, generate revenue and foster enterprise. They:

  • attract people, businesses and inward investment
  • create jobs
  • are a catalyst for regeneration
  • support tourism by increasing the visitor offer.

People with skills learned from working in the cultural and sports sectors are often highly employable in other sectors. The long-term aspirations of the UK to grow as a creative economy depend on people developing creative skills.

The cultural and creative industries are important drivers of knowledge based sustainable growth. They are among the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy and generate significant revenue. In the South East they employ over 500,000 people, more than anywhere else in the UK outside London. The South East’s creative practitioners are vital to the region's wider economic success. They contribute to economic output and inject innovation and enterprise into the economy.

The South East also has the largest tourism market in the UK outside London. Tourism is one of the region's largest industries. It generates over £10 billion each year from visitors and employs more than 225,000 people.

‘13% of the region’s workforce is employed in cultural and creative industries (with the sector experiencing significant growth over recent years) … Significantly, cultural activities are in the forefront of ‘smart growth’, with job increases likely to be accompanied by minimal adverse environmental consequences. A rich and varied cultural ‘landscape’ is essential to delivering a competitive information-led economy. Research has shown that successful cultural policies can also help regeneration and urban renaissance. They can improve and enrich the daily lives of those living in the Growth Areas. They can protect the unique sense of place that has attracted firms and people to the region for many years. At a personal level, cultural activities promote health, including physical and mental well-being. To successfully engage people in cultural activities it is vital that a wide range of opportunities is available and easily accessible, for example in one mixed-use location.’
The South East Plan - a clear vision for the South East, South East England Regional Assembly, Draft 2006

See what Cheryl Coppell, Chief Executive of London Borough of Havering Council and former Chief Executive of Slough Borough Council and Simon Eden, Chief Executive of Winchester City Council say about the contribution of culture to jobs and the economy.

Creative industries are growing faster than the economy as a whole and will generate many of the new jobs of the future. The demand for creativity in all business sectors is rising as innovation becomes critical to competitiveness.
Cheryl Coppell, Chief Executive of London Borough of Havering Council and former Chief Executive of Slough Borough Council, Inspiring our ambitions through sport, arts, culture and place, Solace/IDeA, 2007
No-one would disagree that there is a clear relationship between social capital and economic development: successful economies need successful communities. Within the broad concept of social capital sits cultural capital: those various forms of knowledge, skill, education and learned experience which surround and support an individual and a community and enhance their lives. Councils nurture this through institutions such as libraries or art galleries, festivals or events. They are equally important in creating that sense of place we all seek ... Social and cultural capital are essential if we are to attract to a community the modern creators of economic wealth … If a city is to realise the added value a creative economy can deliver, then it needs to stop seeing cultural services as something whose value has to be advocated because they are seen as mere costs. Instead, they must be recognised as essential investment in the requisites of a creative city – our cultural capital.
Simon Eden, Chief Executive, Winchester City Council and Chris Turner, Pro-vice Chancellor, University of Winchester, Inspiring our ambitions through sport, arts, culture and place, Solace/IDeA, 2007

Sport-related economic activity adds £2.6 million to the South East economy, or 1.6% of the regional GDP . The sports sector employs around 72,000 people, which represents 1.7% of the total regional employment.

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