Brighton and Hove

• Summary
• Key messages for other councils
• Background to the council and local economy
• Who was involved and what was invested?
• Areas of action included
• Outcomes and impact
• Improvements?
• Next steps
• Further information

Summary

The last 10 to 15 years in Brighton and Hove has seen a consistent growth in the profile and investment in the cultural sector, plus a number of culturally-led capital developments. Against this backdrop, the recognition of the significance of the creative industries and the allocation of specific support to those industries has helped to develop the sector. It is now one of the key employment sectors for the city, accounting for 20 per cent of businesses and more than 10 per cent of employment.

Key messages for other councils

• Build on and respond to existing strengths and fledgling clusters
• Work in partnership across sectors
• Focus on the contextual picture as well – the holistic offer of the city which makes it attractive to creative businesses and to the workforce they need to grow.

Background to the council and local economy

Brighton and Hove is the creative powerhouse of the South East region. Its strength lies in its combination of people and place: it is a city of contrasts. The city has unique architectural heritage and cutting edge contemporary culture, art and entertainment, countryside and cosmopolitan seafront, and rich and poor neighbourhoods and communities.

Brighton and Hove is recognised as a creative hub on the South Coast, hosting the biggest cluster of creative industries businesses and organisations in the South East outside London. In 2000, approximately 1,500 creative businesses were identified. This revealed that almost one in five businesses in the city were from the creative economy. Figures from 2007 suggested that total employment in the creative industries was estimated to be 15,800 – 10.7 per cent of the city’s working population in 2007.

The city is cosmopolitan: it is socially, culturally and creatively diverse with a unique social history with long artistic traditions. There are two universities with international reputations for excellence and demonstrable local commitment to the success of the city’s economy and increasing opportunities for residents.

There are more than 50 festivals each year, ranging from critically-renowned artform festivals to neighbourhood and community of interest festivals. This includes the Brighton Festival held each year in May. This is the largest arts festival in England and, with its umbrella ‘festivals within festival’, contributes more than £20 million to the local economy.

It is home to creative practitioners who forge new directions and has a reputation for networking, flexible working, innovation and collaboration. This attracts global giants in new technology and media: the city is the ‘real world’ European home of Linden Lab – the inventors of ‘Second Life’ and Disney’s ‘The Penguin Club’.

It is also home to the annual Develop Conference – the leading European games development expo. Brighton and Hove is ranked at number five in the national ‘Sharpie Index of Creative Cities’, published in 2008, which measures the creativity of individuals and businesses. It was recently named as one of five potential ‘supercities of the future’ in the HSBC-commissioned ‘Supercities Report’.

Brighton and Hove’s Museum Service ranks in the top 10 performing unitary authorities in the country, and is a regional hub for museums. Its Library Services rank in the top five, with Children’s Library Services ranking as the second best in the whole country.

In terms of the new national indicator NI11 – Engagement in the Arts, Brighton and Hove is the top ranked authority in the country outside of the London Boroughs, and the highest in the South East region. There are eight million visitors a year and the tourism industry contributes more than £400 million to the local economy.

The city is well known for its vibrant grassroots nightlife, a unique cabaret and theatre scene, a music scene which numbers 1,000 bands and club nights that cater for every taste. There are more than 50 venues – including theatres, performance spaces, pubs and clubs – mostly well within walking distance of each other.

There are small-scale contemporary art galleries, 1,000 Open House artists and a growing public art portfolio finding a place throughout and across the city. There is also a diverse ethnic and bohemian independent retail offer particularly in North Lane and The Lanes.

There is excellent cross-sector partnership working supporting the development of culture and cultural representation on both the local strategic partnership (LSP) and the economic partnership. It underlines the importance the city places on culture. Successful models for stimulating the cultural sector have grown here. The Brighton and Hove Arts Commission and Creative Brighton both provide independent and arms-length, sector-led vision, advocacy and dialogue while creating a solid base for expanding infrastructure.

Who was involved and what was invested?

Partners have included:

• Arts Council England.
• Brighton and Hove Arts Commission.
• Brighton Media Centre.
• Brighton Music Network.
• Creative Brighton.
• University of Sussex.
• University of Brighton.
• Wired Sussex.
• Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership.
• South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA).

Areas of action included

Historical investment

The success of the creative industries sector currently is undoubtedly positively affected by the levels of investment in culture that the city has seen over the last 10 to 15 years. From the 1990s onwards, forward planning and investment in the seafront and cultural assets has revitalised the public face of the city and the infrastructure of its cultural offer.

The creation of the city’s Cultural Quarter, comprising the Royal Pavilion and its estate, with significant government and lottery-funded refurbished of Brighton Museum and the Brighton Dome venues, also involved the new Jubilee Library – a contemporary building in a contemporary new civic square with a regular events programme – and New Road, the linking road in the Cultural Quarter recently re-designed by the Danish architects Gehl and awarded a Civic Trust Award.

Other significant investments included Single Regeneration Fund funding for Phoenix – an artist-led project creating around 100 studios plus an art gallery, Fabrica – a city centre art gallery in a converted church. In addition, the Brighton Media Centre, initially housing Lighthouse – a digital media production, exhibition and training facility which has now relocated – has benefitted from a successful Percent for Art policy of 15 years standing.

What this context created was a city where graduate retention grew even higher, creative companies both started in the city and located themselves here. The wider cultural offer being an essential part of the mix for the creative industries sector to thrive.

Building the information base and profile of creative industries in Brighton: In 2000, shortly after Brighton and Hove made its successful bid for city status, an audit of the creative industries in the city was commissioned for the first time.

The process of bidding for city status, had led to an informal analysis of the city’s strengths that clearly indicated that culture and creative industries were a clear focus. The audit then confirmed this and created a baseline of statistics that was used to lobby for resources and support to the sector, such as the establishment of a dedicated post within the local authority.

In addition, Creative Brighton was established – an independent partnership group for the creative industries sector. Most recently, we have commissioned the Creative Industries Workspace Study which gives both ambitious targets and potential routemaps.

Providing access to advice and support

Creative businesses historically have found public, commercial and professional agencies in Brighton and Hove – including the council – difficult to access for suitable support.

The establishment of a Creative Industries post has helped this, creating a clear point of contact for creative businesses. Free business clinics have been now been designed to provide local enterprises with a face-to-face review with an experienced Business Link adviser. Creative Brighton has also endorsed a business guide.

Advocacy and mainstreaming

There was clearly a role for the local authority in lobbying the regional development agencies (RDAs) to provide support for the creative industries sector and to recognise the potential and importance of this sector through existing and bespoke schemes.

We also worked hard to incorporate the needs of the creative industries sector in relevant policy and strategy documents. In addition, in terms of the governing and other key partnerships of the city, such as the local strategic partnership (LSP) and the economic partnership, we have ensured representation from the creative and cultural industries.

Outcomes and impact

Over the last five years, the creative industries sector has grown by nearly five per cent, making it the fastest growing business sub-sector. The creative industries are an acknowledged key employment sector, both in local and regional economic strategies. The Creative Industries Workspace strategy findings have been incorporated to the local development framework (LDF), a key planning document governing the next 20 years.

Improvements?

Brighton and Hove as a local authority needs to play a greater role in the promotion of business retention and inward investment for the creative industries. We also need to improve our current information and analysis: up-to-date knowledge of the sector and its needs is vital.

Next steps

For Brighton and Hove, the next steps are to deliver on the ambitions of the Creative Industries Workspace Study. We aim to increase the amount of workspace available for new and growing businesses through planning gain, partnerships or the use of the council’s own property portfolio. We also have ambitions to create a strand of apprenticeships in the creative and cultural sector.

Further information

Paula Murray
Head of Culture and Economy
Brighton and Hove City Council
telephone: 01273 292 535
email: paula.murray@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Page published June 2009.