partnership document GREAT PLACES SCHEME 2016
Route 66 Connecting Cumbria along the east/west axis While we know of stunning scenery, Cumbria is also a place that reflects some of the most pressing contemporary issues. Energy production tourism land use food production flood protection From the fells of the Pennines to the Energy Coast the Route 66 project is about connecting these places and issues, as well as the people we find on and near the A66. The A66 stands on the ancient route connecting the historic ports of Whitehaven and Workington and the modern energy production of the wind farms and Sellafied to the north/south highway and rail route at Penrith. The route takes us through a National Park, past castles and cultural assets, traditions and heritage. and social development. Beyond Cumbria - to the east - the A66 connects with the industry of the east coast around Middlesborough. In the Cumbrian section it runs from the high fells above Brough to the sea at Workington. Cumbria has significant and world class activity going on, not least the building of a 20bn new nuclear power station that may see the generation of 20000 new jobs. At one time the route was the connector between significant national places (the West Coast and Durham), today that significance has been eroded, however it is regaining its connecting role and essential identity. The desire to enhance Cumbria is apparent, to build houses, to develop infrastructure, to recruit and retain a skilled workforce. The A66 and the Route 66 Project will play a major role in this place-making, economic Cumbria is in a unique position. The meeting place of nature, climate, food production and the most leading edge technology imaginable. We wish to bring those things together as a single articulated narrative so that everyone understands this place beyond its beauty.
The need During the process of developing the Whitehaven proposal for the Great Exhibition of the North to the Department of Media, Culture and Sport it was clear that there is a recognition that culture has a role to play in the development of place, economy and community in North and West and East Cumbria. Allerdale, Copeland and Eden have a natural desire and need to develop and progress economically. While the three districts are not the same - quite dissimilar in some respects when one compares the rural landscape of the Eden valley and surrounding fells with the sea-scape and industrial heritage of the west coast - nevertheless the desire to work together to achieve positive outcomes is real. There are some mutual problems - e.g. recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce. The Route 66 project is about raising the profile of this place; establishing a common purpose and vision so that the three districts linked by the A66 see measurable improvements as places to live, work and visit. the axis is the A66 The Route 66 project addresses the desire to: connect the West Coast of Cumbria with the M6 and main line connect the Districts of Eden, Allerdale and Copeland around a common purpose address and improve recruitment and retention problems across industry and the public sector in the north of Cumbria and on the West Coast Energy Coast improve place and community
The Route 66 proposal is that we use arts and culture as a linking mechanism. North Cumbria has cultural assets along an axis from the east where the cross-pennine route descends into the Eden Valley all the way to the west where it meets the sea at Workington, Whitehaven, St Bees and Maryport. These include National Trust properties, Forestry Commission sites (Whinlatter), arts and cultural organisations such as Eden Arts, Theatre by the Lake, Highlights Rural Touring, Kirkgate in Cockermouth, Rosehill Theatre, Rheged; festivals such as Keswick Jazz, Keswick Film Festival Keswick Mountain Festival, The Winter Droving, Kendal Calling, Taste Cumbria; heritage sites such as Brougham Castle, Appleby Castle, Lowther Castle, Whitehaven Harbour, Wordsworth House and Garden, the Museums; there s the Blencathra Field Centre, Goldsworthy s Sheepfolds, the stone circles, Ashness Bridge this is not an exhaustive list by any means. Route 66 is about placemaking, health and well-being, community engagement, business engagement, tourism, economy. We have seen how in places such as Liverpool, Newcastle and Gateshead, Glasgow, Manchester how culture has been used as a stimulant for local activity, benefitting the image and sense of place. Using culture in this way is a well established mechanism. photo: Brian Sherwen
THE CULTURAL ACTION How do we use culture to help make these connections, to join communities together and to each other, to drive tourism and economy; to make our place better, better off, healthier, more positive in outlook and ambition, more attractive to visitors, better known, more successful, thriving and sustainable? i We will engage a research partner (Lancaster University s Institute of Social Futures) to benchmark, record activities and produce a coherent evaluation ii We will map what is the cultural places, the places to visit, the places to be, the places people live iii We create a team to work with communities, to promote business, to commission new work, to market the route, to create tourism itineraries waymarker Spanish style iv We will draw together our themes of land, land use, agriculture, climate, technology as the inspiration v We will embed cultural leadership and imagination at the heart of strategic planning
COMMUNITY We will conduct community engagement programmes inspired by the Cornish model employed by Wildworks in their Clay Project (see appendix) We will link with health services to promote well-being and social prescribing in more cultural venues. We will pilot mental health services signposting to culture and heritage we will provide training for cultural organisations to welcome those with mental heath issues. OUTCOMES Civic pride of place increased Healthier people More local people taking advantage of the cultural assets on their doorstep /awareness of assets Ownership and successful community driven projects BUSINESS We will engage with businesses and Chambers of Trade and BIDs to establish a benchmark and aspirations for the target area. We will create a brand to share and gather around. We will encourage and promote collective social media use and business engagement. OUTCOMES Identity created put area on the map Improved awareness of and image of the area More business attracted to set up / move to the area Increased retention and recruitment in area Compliments and fits with M6 corridor development, economic growth plans for the area. TOURISM We will create tourism itineraries We will create a website and news dedicated to the Route 66 We will create and promote partnership opportunities across business, culture and accommodation providers We will create identifiable waymarkers along the route - commissioned art-works to inspire and remember the route by OUTCOMES Increased visitors More visitor throughput from LDNP Better partnership working / joined up initiatives to promote the area Increased awareness of the area nationally Increased visitors to area /cultural assets Route 66 is a destination for visitors Economic growth in tourism related businesses PLACE Through bringing together our communities, businesses, stakeholders around a common theme we develop a sense of shared place. OUTCOMES Identity/brand to coalesce around has been created Improved awareness of and image of the area Better partnerships and joint working
THE GREAT PLACES SCHEME arts, culture and heritage sectors in order to maximise their positive cultural, social and economic contribution. The Great Place Scheme is designed to put arts, culture and heritage at the heart of successful communities across England. Twelve areas will pilot new approaches that enable cultural, community and civic organisations to work more closely together. Build new partnerships to realise this contribution and lever resources into the sector to support that. The Great Place Scheme will fund projects in areas where there is a commitment to embed arts, culture and heritage in local plans and decision-making. By strengthening the networks between culture, civic and community organisations, and by involving citizens and local businesses, projects will enhance the role that culture plays in the future of each place participating in the Scheme. In time this will lead to the wide range of social and economic benefits that arts, culture and heritage can achieve. What will the Great Place scheme do? The Great Place Scheme will invest in 12 places across the country to achieve the following: Build on existing strengths within the local Develop these partnerships so that the contribution of the sector is recognised in and supported by long term plans and strategies for the area for instance, the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the Local Enterprise Partnership s Strategic Economic Plan, or destination management plans. The Scheme will enable 12 places across England to put arts, culture and heritage at the heart of the future vision for their area. The successful places will be able to access investment, advice and guidance from the national development agencies and National Lottery funders for arts, culture and heritage - Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, and Historic England. How much funding is available? You can apply for between 500,000 and 1,500,000 for activity to be delivered over a period of up to three years. There is a requirement of at least10% match funds. The scale of a place should be defined using local authority boundaries but could be: a city-region; a combined authority; a single local authority area unitary, lower or upper tier a grouping of local authority areas a Local Enterprise Partnership area a grouping of civil parish areas THE PARTNERS Eden District Council Allerdale District Council Copeland District Council Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners Arup Eden Arts Lake District National Park Cumbria LEP
t 01768 899 444 sept 2016