The council has embarked on a new Cultural Strategy for the next five years to ensure their communities can benefit from Westminster’s world-class cultural and creative activities. With over 2,000 cultural institutions across the borough, the council believes that every single resident should be able to access the valuable local cultural offer.
The Cultural Strategy will form part of the council-wide City for All vision, which sets out the ambition for Westminster to be a ‘city that celebrates its communities’. WCC recognise that when residents take part in cultural activity it transforms:
- their sense of health and wellbeing, and reduces social isolation
- their satisfaction with and connectivity to people and place
- their access to local opportunities, volunteering, skills and employment
Consultation on emerging priorities
The council is now seeking feedback from all our stakeholders and residents on its emerging priorities for culture, which includes:
- increased access to culture for all, with a specific focus on reaching residents that encounter physical, social and economic barriers
- support for health and wellbeing programmes through collaboration with more local cultural partners and deepening relationships with council services (e.g. Families, Public Health, Adult Social Care) and local NHS link workers
- delivering skills for the future by increasing cultural capital and skills opportunities for young people and improving access to lifelong learning for all
- ensuring creative placemaking to maintain cultural infrastructure, creative workspaces and resident programmes as integral to planning and regeneration schemes
Read the full draft Cultural Strategy for Westminster Council 2020-24 on WCC’s website.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions regarding our priorities and how you might partner with WCC by completing an online survey.
All are welcome to attend a Cultural Strategy market stall prior to the council’s next Open Forum event hosted from 3pm on 17 March (location to be confirmed). You will have the opportunity to find out more about their plans for culture in Westminster from council staff.
Next steps
Once WCC has consulted with their residents and stakeholders, the council will use the findings to inform the final strategy and action plan that will show how they intend to deliver their objectives over the next five years. They plan to publish the complete Cultural Strategy 2020-24 in spring 2020.