Plan to radically shake-up the arts and culture sector in Gloucestershire
A significant investment aims to cause a seismic and permanent shift in the arts and culture sector in Gloucestershire, open the door to opportunity and create new jobs in a sector closed to many.
Dear reader,
Welcome to the first post-Easter briefing.
We’ve gone big today on an exciting story that aims to seed-fund change and shake up the county’s arts and culture sector to deliver more accessibility, more diversity, more opportunity and more jobs in a sector with great potential.
The Gloucestershire-based charitable trust and partners behind the investment for change believe the plan it has will also force lasting change.
Devolution for the arts and culture sector, if you like.
Some will say the county already has a vibrant arts and culture scene, and the trust and its partners do not disagree. But their intention is to openly disrupt the status quo in a sector which has been judged UK-wide to be one of “growing inequality, especially across class, ethnicity, and regions”.
In short, people from more middle-class backgrounds continue to dominate the sector, and the gap between ‘middle class’ and ‘working class’ people attending events like live music performances is growing.
The group is not being quite so confrontational in its publicity. These are the findings of an independent study we quote in the story below.
Which means this is an example of Gloucestershire being ambitious again, investing where it thinks it can create most positive change, and putting itself at the forefront of current thinking.
Have a great weekend.
Best regards,
Editor | 07956 926061 | LinkedIn: Andrew Merrell | andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk
Your briefing notes...
🌿Stroud-headquartered ecological consultancy Wildwood Ecology has been bought after a year of “huge growth” by rival Ecology Group. The ecological partner for architecture and planning businesses has delivered impact statements for clients across the county and into Wales and has worked with organisations including the National Trust, McLoughlin Planning and local authorities. Wildwood’s MD Richard Dodd described the move as positive for the business. The B Corp firm was founded in 2008, is based at Brimscombe Mill Business Park and employs more than 20 staff. More here.
💷 Two Gloucester-based specialist engineering firms have joined forces. PJT Pumping Services has been bought by rival firm Pump Supplies Ltd. The Innsworth Technology Park-based business is a specialist in engineering services to the water utilities, civil engineering and environmental sectors. Pump Supplies, which is headquartered in Moreton Valence, is described as a specialist in electric submersible pump hire, sales and service and is part of Stockholm-based infrastructure group Vestum. Top 50 UK law firm Birketts advised on the deal.
💷 Still on the subject of pumps, one of Gloucestershire’s biggest businesses, SPP Pumps, has reported a “resilient performance”, despite turnover and profits falling in what it called a challenging market. The firm, which has a major manufacturing base in Coleford in the Forest of Dean, makes and supplies and services pumps and associated equipment. Its just-published results for the year ending 31 December revealed a turnover of £108.3 million, down on the previous year’s £114.2m. Pre-tax profits were also down, from £13.4m to £10.9m. It described its order book as “strong”. Investment continued in its Gloucestershire base throughout the year and staff numbers grew from 378 to 394 across its business.
Stroud Lido’s future to be decided at crunch meeting next week
Closed due to health and safety fears, Stroud Lido’s future will be decided at a crunch meeting of the district council on Thursday 16 April. Three options will be on the table, each delivering increasing amounts of revenue for the popular public site - but with the money needed starting at £5 million for the cheapest of those, this will be a nervous few days for those campaigning hard to get the council to invest. Read more and see the three options on the table here.
Diary Dates… ideas for the weekend
Saturday 11 April:
⚽ Gloucester FC play Dorchester Town away. KO 3pm.
⚽ Cheltenham Town FC play Walsall away at 3pm.
⚽ Forest Green Rovers FC play Braintree Town at home at The Bolt New Lawn at 3pm.
🍺 Award-winning microbrewery Corinium Ales is hosting a brewery tour and tasting at its Bathhurst estate HQ near Cirencester from 1.30pm to 3pm.
Sunday 12 April:
🏎️🚘🚗 Macchina Cotswolds presents its Supercars & Classics event at The Dial House, Bourton-on-the-Water, from 10am to 1pm. More here.
Future dates
🏇 Willans LLP solicitors and Cheltenham Open Door, the Cheltenham-headquartered law firm’s nominated charity for the year, invite you to join them for an evening of fun, fundraising and friendly competition. The entry fee, which all goes to the charity, puts you and a team in with a chance of winning one or more of six recorded races. Price includes two drinks and pizza. The date has been moved from the end of February to 23 April. At The Bottle of Sauce, Cheltenham, from 6pm. More here.
The Raikes Journal is a community interest company. Everything you read by us is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College and Merrell People, our sponsors, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
If you upgrade to become a paid subscriber you’ll be part of this CIC too. You’ll help make us sustainable, be able to see past the paywalls, comment on our stories, and know you’re making possible the county’s only editorially-led platform dedicated to delivering quality journalism for Gloucestershire about its businesses, charities, education and training sectors.
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Plan to radically shake-up the arts and culture sector in Gloucestershire
A significant investment aims to cause a seismic and permanent shift in the arts and culture sector in Gloucestershire, open the door to opportunity and create new jobs in a sector closed to many.
A bold plan backed by £1.3 million aims to trigger a permanent shift in cultural power, resources and decision-making in the arts in Gloucestershire into the hands of local communities.
Empowered by funds from county charity The Summerfield Charitable Trust, 12 group will come together to deliver the plan, which aims to create a lasting shift in how arts and culture are experienced and valued.
It is hoped that the three-year That’s an Idea! programme will remap the DNA of how the county delivers the arts to their communities, creating “permanent community-led decision-making structures, a connected countywide cultural ecosystem, and a diverse pipeline of creative talent”.
The decision by the trust and its partners puts itself at the forefront of calls to tackle what a recent report by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) found to be “growing inequalities in arts and cultural participation, especially across class, ethnicity, and regions”.
“Stark inequalities in the workforce continue. People from more middle-class backgrounds continue to dominate the sector, and fresh policies are needed to truly shift the dial,” said the findings.
David Owen, chair of trustees at The Summerfield Charitable Trust, which supports county charities and community and has given in excess of £22 million in grants since its formation in 1989, said: “That’s an Idea! speaks directly to something we believe deeply: that arts and culture should belong to everyone.
“This is about more than funding activity; it is about shifting power into the hands of communities, unlocking creativity, and creating opportunities for people to shape the cultural life of their own places.”
The premiss for the radical approach is that although the group agrees the county has a vibrant arts and culture scene already, “access to arts and culture remains uneven”.
“Before this initiative, there was no countywide mechanism enabling communities to shape cultural investment or build long-term creative opportunities,” said a statement from the group.
That’s an Idea! aims to ‘redistribute power to residents by investing in local ideas and talent and creating the infrastructure needed to sustain creativity across communities’.
Matt Lennard, chief executive of Gloucestershire VCSE Alliance, which describes itself as an independent voice that informs, strengthens and develops the local voluntary and community sector in the county, said the project was a unified push to make change happen.
“Members have set aside organisational interests to focus on the shared goal of developing outstanding art and culture services for our county,” said Lennard.
“The breadth of skills, expertise and community connections within the group provides a strong foundation for this work to thrive.”
The programme will seek to place communities at the centre of decision-making through a countywide citizen panel, alongside grants and cultural connectors working within neighbourhoods.
It will aim to “strengthen infrastructure for lasting change”, provide digital tools, commission frameworks and data to connect organisations, reduce duplication and support long-term sustainability.
And create paid pathways, skills development opportunities and support for creative entrepreneurship, helping people to build sustainable careers in the sector in the county.
Phil Hindson, chief executive of Gloucester Culture Trust, said: “This innovative investment will help more people across our county access and enjoy arts and culture that is relevant to them.
“Working in partnership with Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium, we will help local artists to connect with communities, offering access to inclusive cultural opportunities that support well-being and reduce isolation.
“I’m particularly excited by the opportunity to create a Citizens’ Panel for Gloucestershire.
“You’ll be able to make decisions about what’s happening in your local area - Cirencester, Tewksbury, Stroud, Gloucester, the Forest of Dean or anywhere in between. You’ll get to choose what the cultural offer looks like on your doorstep”.
Karen Lawton, chief executive of Mindsong, a Gloucestershire-based charity that uses music and song to reach people with dementia, as well as those with lung conditions, long covid, or aphasia, said: “The innovation behind The Summerfield Trust investing such a large sum of money in us and That’s an Idea! has given us the freedom to explore creativity in the county, look at new ways to give grants and come up with a plan that is able to flex as we discover the brilliant ideas out there just waiting for support.”
A report from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) published in May last year looked at the arts and found growing inequalities in arts and cultural participation, especially across class, ethnicity, and regions.
“Stark inequalities in the workforce continue. People from more middle-class backgrounds continue to dominate the sector, and fresh policies are needed to truly shift the dial,” said the findings.
David O’Brien, School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester said at the time: “This new research shows the ongoing challenge of making arts, culture and heritage more accessible, both for potential workers and for potential audiences.
“The data and analysis can hopefully be the starting point for policymakers and organisations making the case for a fairer and more accessible cultural sector.
“Moreover, the detailed look at local authority level information in England, in a context where local government is one of the most substantive funders of culture, should be valuable in fighting to preserve local cultural provision.”