Arts Council England has announced its new Creative People and Places (CPP) portfolio – to run from 2026 to 2029 - and there are to be three North East beneficiaries, including one new one, all south of the Tyne.
Continued support is pledged for The Cultural Spring, operating in Sunderland and South Tyneside, and for Borderlands which works with communities in Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland.
Joining the CPP portfolio for the first time will be Hartlepool with a project called Rock Pools which, according to the Arts Council, will “co-design a programme of creative activity celebrating Hartlepool’s rich diversity and identity”.
The three North East projects will see £2.5 million of National Lottery proceeds invested with a view to delivering more grassroots-led cultural experiences in places where involvement in arts and culture is below the national average.
Often this comes down to opportunity, with few cultural providers in the vicinity and major museums, galleries and theatres located an expensive or difficult journey away.
With CPP, the Arts Council has sought to enable local people to put on the activities they want in their community, partnering with cultural organisations to make them happen.
If you take The Cultural Spring as your guide, it has been a huge success.
This was one of the earliest Creative People and Places projects, established in 2014.
Emma Horsman, project director at The Cultural Spring, said she was thrilled at the vote of confidence from Arts Council England.
“For more than 10 years now, we’ve helped change the way arts and culture are viewed in both places (Sunderland and South Tyneside).
More people are experiencing arts and culture than when we began, and more people within our neighbourhoods feel empowered to help their communities take decisions about what artistic and cultural activities they’d like to see locally.
“Increasingly, we’re also helping and developing local venues to realise their potential within their communities, while continuing to be a key source for work and inspiration for artists and arts practitioners within Sunderland and South Tyneside – and the wider region.
“What we’re particularly proud of is the legacy we are creating in our communities and the arts organisations and practitioners we’ve helped develop such as We Make Culture, Southpaw Dance Company and Dominic Wilcox from Little Inventors.”
The Cultural Spring, whose partners include Young Asian Voices, Inspire South Tyneside, the MAC Trust and the University of Sunderland, is recommended to receive £1 million to continue its work over the next three years.
Graeme Thompson, former pro-vice chancellor at the university and chair of the steering board, said of The Cultural Spring: “It has made a genuine difference in people’s lives across the communities we serve.”
Borderlands, which first joined the CPP portfolio in 2019, is recommended to get £750,000 over the coming three years to build on the success of a programme that has already involved 150 community groups and 80,000 participants.
Helena Bowman, chair of the Borderlands consortium (partners include Teesside University, the Middlesbrough-based Actes Trust, North Star Housing Association, Tees Valley Nature Partnership, Middlesbrough College and Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation), said she was delighted at the ongoing support.
“The extended funding will enable us to further engage with communities across South Tees who will continue to influence and shape the whole scope of Borderlands’ work over the next few years,” she said.
And she added: “Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland is an inspiring place to work.
“It is full of imaginative and industrious people who share their passion for this place and their ideas for its future.”
Rock Pools, with project partners The Northern School of Art, Thrive, Thirteen Housing, Tees Valley Music Service and the PFC Trust, is also recommended to receive £750,000.
The name comes from the idea that each of Hartlepool’s wards is a distinct ‘rock pool’, each shaped by its residents and stories but interconnected.
The idea is that those stories will be amplified and the connections strengthened, leading to long-term cultural transformation.
Leading the project is The Northern School of Art whose principal, Martin Raby, called the funding “a hugely positive moment for the town”.
He said there had been wide consultation ahead of the application and added: “Rock Pools seeks to make real, sustainable change within the town’s communities, supporting them to shape, design, lead and change the arts and cultural provision in Hartlepool.”
This latest CPP portfolio means nearly £162 million has been invested across England since the programme began in 2012.
Since then, it is estimated more than 15,000 cultural activities have taken place, resulting in more than 19 million engagements with people in the selected areas.
Arts Council chief executive Darren Henley said the investment “unlocks the creative power of neighbourhoods across England, giving people the chance to commission new work, to participate in creative acts and to experience the artistic excellence of professional creators, curators and performers.”
Arts minister Ian Murray said: “Our national culture thrives when communities follow their own ambitions.
“I am thrilled that this investment directly empowers local organisations so they can tell the world their story and make people proud of where they live.”