Agenda item

RECOMMENDATION

The Policy Committee is asked to review and comment on the direction of the strategy including the vision, values, themes and priorities.

Councillor Lucille Thompson, Cabinet Member for Business and Culture, Andrew Gostelow, Service Lead - Economy & Tourism and Emalene Hickman, Culture and Creative Sector Development Officer introduced the agenda item which set out proposals for the Winchester District Cultural Strategy, (available here). The introduction was accompanied by a presentation and included the following points.

1. The strategy aimed to develop, promote, and celebrate Winchester's cultural offerings, highlighting a year-long journey from conception to conclusion.
2. A collaborative team was formed to ensure ongoing development and implementation of the strategy, which aimed for broader community engagement and support beyond the council.
3. Partnership and collaboration were identified as core to the strategy's success, focusing on building a robust and resilient cultural and creative sector through stakeholder engagement and shared values.
4. The strategy's priorities were designed to address the district's unique cultural and economic landscape, aiming for inclusive, ambitious, and environmentally responsible cultural development.
5. Specific goals by 2030 included establishing a youth-led cultural movement, harnessing placemaking for community pride, expanding events and festivals, and bolstering the economy and creative industries.
6. Themes of environmental responsibility, health and well-being, and inclusion and diversity were integrated across all priorities to ensure a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach.
7. Investment and financial resilience were highlighted as critical for the sector's sustainability, with suggestions for collective funding initiatives and partnership with the corporate sector.
8. The strategy aligned with national and regional cultural initiatives, emphasising local collaboration and broad stakeholder engagement to inform its development and implementation.
9. The next steps would involve seeking feedback for the strategy's adoption by the Cabinet on March 14^th, 2024, followed by the development of detailed action plans across themes and priorities to achieve the strategy's objectives by 2030.

The committee was asked to review and comment on the direction of the strategy including the vision, values, themes and priorities. The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised.

1.    The evaluation of current activities against identified themes and their geographic distribution across the district, especially considering perceptions of a “Winchester-centric” cultural offer.

2.    Clarification regarding the breadth of organisations consulted to ensure the inclusion and diversity theme was thoroughly enabled and whether educational sector inputs beyond tertiary institutions had been sought to support the overall strategy.

3.    Clarification on the approach to scaling cultural activities, questioning whether there was support for significant events and initiatives to grow, including potential strategies for attracting major creative industries to the district.

4.    Some concern was raised that the current number of events and festivals might undervalue the district's cultural offerings and that a broader acknowledgement of community events and activities was appropriate.

5.    Discussion on the formation and governance of a forum ensuring a diverse stakeholder mix to achieve the strategy's objectives.

6.    Suggestions for establishing clear success indicators for the forum, emphasising the importance of strategic mobility, joint funding bids, and broader PR activities to showcase the district's cultural and creative sector.

7.    Whether officers could recirculate the “request for events” document.

8.    Consideration of creating a formal constitution for the forum to address governance and the equitable distribution of potential funding, recognising the varied needs of Winchester's city and rural areas.

These points were responded to by Councillor Lucille Thompson, Cabinet Member for Business and Culture, Andrew Gostelow, Service Lead - Economy & Tourism and Emalene Hickman, Culture and Creative Sector Development Officer accordingly.

RESOLVED:

The committee agreed to ask the Cabinet Member to consider the following:

1.    That the strategy fully reflects activities across the entire district and ensures that the scope and scale of various activities were compatible with each other.

2.    The need for clear governance mechanisms for the overseeing forum, particularly a transparent process that ensured the strategy's objectives were progressively achieved.

3.    That an ongoing review process be established to monitor the strategy's effectiveness and adapt as necessary to meet the evolving cultural needs of the district.

4.     That the cabinet member considers the committee's comments raised during the discussion of the item.