Let us know your feedback via our contact form

INT4 - Delivering a distinctive, dynamic cultural centre of regional, national and international renown

INT4 - Delivering a distinctive, dynamic cultural centre of regional, national and international renown

< Back

Overview

The Plan supports Plymouth's thriving arts and cultural sector and seeks to promote the city’s reputation at a national and international level.

Image Drake Circus
Royal Navy ship
Royal Navy ship
Image Signs
The Barbican, Plymouth
The Barbican, Plymouth
Photo by Frederica Diamanta

This Policy belongs to

Policy

The city will support a thriving arts and cultural sector and promote Plymouth’s reputation at a national and international level by:

  1. Developing a major international cultural programme stimulating trade and investment with cities in Europe, the United States and China.
  2. Establishing three cultural hubs in the following general locations:
    1. The City Centre/Waterfront (including the Theatre Royal, Drake Leisure and The Box, The Barbican/Sutton Harbour and The Hoe).
    2. Royal William Yard including Ocean Studios/The Cooperage and emerging Melville Building venues.
    3. Devonport (centred around Devonport Guildhall, Market building, and Plymouth Music Zone and Music Hub)
  3. Supporting the cultural hubs and the places that connect the hubs as locations where it will be easier for people to occupy temporarily vacant spaces for artistic and cultural ventures.
  4. Investing in public engagement, appreciating the lasting impact that one-off projects can have on places and people, and recognising the possibilities for different types, forms and timespans for arts in the public realm.
  5. Developing and providing more music venues for local and underground talent, and seeking to build on opportunities to stimulate further cultural opportunities across the city.
  6. Raising the profile of key cultural assets through high quality marketing and national public relations, working closely with key city partners to embed cultural products and activities as key parts of the local and visitor offering.
  7. Identifying priorities for new future cultural assets.
  8. Developing a coherent and structured offer to nurture new creative talent within the city to grow creative industries and increase graduate retention.
  9. Increasing community engagement and development in the least engaged communities through targeted investment, training, development and public art projects.
  10. Supporting coherent cultural programming and the delivery of distinctive events, festivals, projects and commissions, which are accessible to a wide range of audiences, to develop capacity and raise the profile of the city.
  11. Using planning powers to deliver and deliver public art through key infrastructure and development proposals at key gateway locations.

Rationale

Plymouth's unique geography and access to the international community, combined with its rich higher education institutions and cultural and creative organisations places the city in a prime position to engage strategically with international cities from mainland Europe, the east coast of the United States, China and beyond. In order to attract interest in international trade and investment, and draw more visitors to the city, Plymouth needs to collaborate more with the cultural sector internationally. Through an international cultural programme that stimulates high value international visits, trade and investment with cities in Europe, the US and China there is an opportunity for Plymouth to place itself as a major centre for international collaboration in the south west of England.

The Plymouth Plan seeks to support cultural activities and experiences in communities across the whole of Plymouth through a 'hub and spoke' concept. The policy identifies a focus on three cultural hubs in the locations of city centre and adjoining Waterfront; Royal William Yard; and Devonport which build on existing community activity, assets and infrastructure. Investment in the three hubs is seeking to stimulate further cultural opportunities across the city that gives greater local accessibility to cultural activities.

Developing a distinctive and dynamic cultural sector in Plymouth that will unlock the potential of the city's arts, creative sector and cultural heritage will help raise the profile of Plymouth working closely with key partners in the visitor economy. It will also provide opportunities for local communities and attract those seeking to relocate for business offering a lifestyle that cannot be found elsewhere, with arts, music, drama, comedy and entertainment forming a unique city identity that supports growth.

Delivery and related documents

Vision

An International City

This is about how the city projects itself to the wider world, to people who might invest in or visit the city, the sense of pride that local people take in their city and how Plymouth’s businesses engage with an increasingly global market place.

Open Vision Stroke 1 Copy An international city

It looks like you are using an outdated browser (Internet Explorer) - some features of this site may not function correctly. Please consider updating to a modern browser like Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge,