Hull City Council has committed to a long-term development of the city’s culture with transformative new funding.
The funding will ensure the council’s culture and heritage team are able to increase investment coming in to the city and raise Hull’s profile through events and marketing.
As part of the initiative, the council will form two new boards, the Hull Culture & Heritage Partnership Board and the Hull Music Board, to guide the development and delivery of the plans of over the next five years. Expressions of interest will soon be invited for membership.
The development of a new community-led festival, rooted in Hull’s people and places, is included in the plans, along with an increase in events in parks across the city.
The new strategy will look to build on the existing work of the Local Visitor Economy Partnership and the HEY Volunteers, and on the legacy of Hull’s time as the UK City of Culture in 2017.
The strategy is supported by a commitment of £420,000 to the development of council staff capacity for:
- Cultural Commissioning and intelligence
- Marketing the city
- Parks event development and management
- Creative Communities volunteer co-ordination.
Cllr Rob Pritchard, portfolio holder for culture and leisure, said: “This additional funding recognises the importance of culture and heritage as a driver for regeneration, community pride and cohesion, and its role in raising aspirations and attainment.
“It offers both an economic return and a social value to our residents. Successful places have connected the role of culture into their identity, maximising its contribution to the economy and creating a place that people love to live, work, study and visit.”
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