P LY M O U T H ’ S
From Hollywood to Borehamwood and Plymouth driving local growth through the Arts.
LGA Conference
Leader of Plymouth City Council Councillor Tudor Evans
I am a massive fan of arts and culture. It is not just about the art, it’s about the wider benefits it brings. It makes people feel good about a place, it attracts visitors and attracts investment which brings jobs. There is so much evidence available about the wider benefits of arts and culture. Here’s just a few facts for you: •
For every £1 of salary paid by the arts and culture industry an additional £2.01 is generated in the wider economy through indirect and induced multiplier impacts.
• Over 60 per cent of people are more likely to report good health if they’ve attended a cultural event in the last 12 months. • Arts and cultural intervention has a proven impact upon specific conditions such as Dementia, Parkinson’s and Depression. • Employment in the creative and cultural sector is expected to grow by a third by 2020, compared to just 6 per cent growth in other areas.
I am now going to boast about some of the amazing things which are happening in Plymouth and how they are helping to make our city a cooler, better and wealthier place to live.
Sutton Harbour
In 2020 the new Plymouth History Centre is opening, a £25 million investment •
Largest investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund last year went to Plymouth History Centre (£12.8m)
•
Will attract approximately 300,000 visitors from across the world
Photo by Bao Wang
Some of the exhibits going into Plymouth History Centre...
A licence to Pirate! A Royal Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Francis Drake giving him permission to set sail ‘for the honor and safetie of our Realmes and Domynions’ and authorising him to punish any sedition, disobedience or quarrelsomeness that he encountered on his voyage!
Scott of the Antarctic a Plymouth boy, whose pair of skis will be on display, as well as items that belonged to other members of his Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions.
Photo from Plymouth City Council (Arts and Heritage)
Footage from the South West Film and Television Archive
which holds the largest combined film archive collection in the UK with over 250,000 individual films.
Photo from South West Film and Television Archive
Mayflower 400 In 2020 it will be the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower. 16 million Americans can trace their roots back to the Mayflower’s famous voyage to the New World.
In 2020 Plymouth will be the cultural hub of these celebrations. We will have: • • • • •
The opening of Plymouth History Centre Trade and Investment Expo targeting marine investment New Mayflower memorial – with a world renowned piece of public art in partnership with UK destinations and the US A year long major cultural festival including a street theatre spectacle with Royal de Luxe A new cultural volunteers training scheme
With plans to celebrate the 400th anniversary well underway, Plymouth is on track to increase visitor numbers by 20 per cent by 2020.
Did you know, Plymouth Gin (the best gin!) is still distilled in Plymouth’s Black Friars Distillery, which is the oldest working gin distillery in England (1793) As we speak the CEO of Chivas Brothers, the owners of Plymouth Gin, are in the City Museum and Art Gallery opening a new exhibit they have sponsored: ‘From Plymouth to the World’. They are also sponsoring our Plymouth Seafood Festival, helping us promote Plymouth on a national stage.
The Ocean City Festival, currently in its third year, brings together education, marine science and technology, business and culture, with a spectacular twenty day festival. Between the History Festival and the Ocean City Festival, Plymouth will see more events taking place than Hull’s year as City of Culture!!
When it comes to events, Plymouth really does have something to shout about. MTV Crashes Plymouth, attracting up to 35,000 visitors per night to Plymouth Hoe, will be here for the next three years. There will be two nights of fantastic live music, top bands and DJs, broad-casted on MTV’s flagship UK music TV channels, showcasing Plymouth in over 35 countries. A third night will be dedicated to local bands and artists, chosen by the people of Plymouth.
Over a hundred thousand people will flock to Plymouth to watch the battle in the sky at the British Firework Championships.
Plymouth Hoe is one of the most spectacular venues to host national and international events, including some of the most challenging yacht races – Fastnet this year and Transat in 2016.
We use these signature events to attract investors to the city. It is a challenge to sell the city remotely, through a powerpoint presentation or at trade shows (we do that as well). Events such as the Fireworks Championships is a prime example of linking inward investment to our great cultural offer, creating opportunities to showcase our city at its best. Following the Fireworks in 2013, Thrive Hubs invested in a building that was redundant for nearly three years and converted it into a lively business centre.
This year, Plymouth City Council runs over 160 events!
Plymouth’s iconic Smeaton’s the blueprint A packedTower eventsbecame programme and cultural lighthouse construction - it’s activitiesforbring more visitors and investment. based the sturdiness of and an Day visitors on on average spend £30 oak tree overnight visitors spend £185.
Photo by Bao Wang
With 5.5 million visitors coming to the city, the tourism sector is worth £337 million per annum. Approximately seven per cent of the city’s employment is tourism related, providing over 8,000 jobs. The growth of our visitor economy, particularly in the lead up to 2020, is a key driver to attract high quality hotel investment to the city.
Plymouth is rich with maritime history of which the visitors love and our residents are really proud of. Royal William Yard, home to the largest collection of Grade 1 Listed Naval buildings in Europe is now a cultural hotspot for bars, restaurants and art galleries.
Also at Royal William Yard is the new Ocean Studios. With 100 studio spaces, hot desk facilities and exhibition space. Growing new start-up businesses within creative industries and supporting creative talent and resilience. The building will be opening next month by Sir Nicholas Serota (Director of Tate) and the inaugural exhibition will feature world class artists such as Turner Prize Winner Grayson Perry.
2016 will see the start of a 12 screen cinema complex being built in the heart of the city centre, as well as 13 restaurants and car parking. The £40 million investment by Drake Circus Leisure will create 350 permanent jobs for local people and will be a great benefit to the whole city’s night time economy. The business rates for the new cinema complex is approximately £650,000, this will fund 8,000 pot holes!
Continuing on the theme of visual arts, the city is swiftly developing its reputation as a home for quality contemporary visual arts. We hosted the British Arts Show in 2011, and we are now moving on to develop a festival of public art beginning in 2016. This September we will have the Plymouth Art Weekender which is a feast of visual arts across the city. This will feature home grown talent alongside established names such as another Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing.
When we talk about culture, Theatre Royal Plymouth is at the top of its game, being the best attended and largest regional producing theatre in the UK. The Theatre drives ÂŁ26 million into the local economy every year.
Photo Alastair Muir
The TR2 production and learning centre is located within an architecturally award winning building, containing unrivalled set, costume, prop-making and rehearsal facilities. I bet you didn’t know that it was TR2 that produced the outstanding cascade for the spectacular poppies at the Tower of London.
Plymouth University’s The House is a £7million investment that promotes economic and cultural growth in the South West. It is a cutting edge theatre with its facilities being world class, and is fast attracting some of the best national and international artists. Built primarily as a training facility, this stunning building enhances the University’s growing reputation for artistic innovation and excellence.
Twofour’s National Television Award-winning Educating Yorkshire was Channel 4’s highest rating series of 2013
‘Educating Yorkshire’ Photo by Adam Lawrence
Twofour produces over 300 hours of broadcast television and digital content every year and its television programmes are aired in over 100 countries across the world. Twofour’s headquarters are located in Plymouth.
Plymouth is a fantastic city to live, work and play. Culture is a massive part of our everyday lives and the growth of a strong economy and exciting investment opportunities.
Plymouth ranks third for its quality of life against 20 of Britain’s largest cities according to the Sustainable Cities index 2010
Culture is more than just a painting (although we are pretty good at that too‌ Sir Joshua Reynolds, Robert Lenkiewicz and Beryl Cook to name a few!). It brings together community, visitors, businesses, education, and artists alike - creating excitement across the city and a sense of pride and good feeling.
The city is also developing a range of festivals being initiated by up and coming artists and organisations. This year has seen our first Plymouth Theatre Fringe Festival. We are now in the third year of the Plymouth International Book Festival that has attracted names such as Joanna Trollope, Ian McEwan, Will Self and Andrew Motion. Plymouth is also hosting the National Youth Dance Festival this month with over 1000 young performers from the UK arriving to showcase their work.
A city with a cool cultural offer creates an attractive and vibrant destination for visitors and investors, bringing job creation and opportunity, as well as an enviable lifestyle for all. It creates opportunities to raise our profile on a national and global stage through high profile events, as well as our world class theatre and production facilities. Plymouth is committed to growing its cultural offer – it makes economic sense!
Thank you