Key Data

  • Creativity, intellectual property and the range and quality of cultural amenities play a crucial role in defining and shaping the South West's competitive advantage and its national and international standing, (SWRDA 2006).
  • Cultural sector business turnover is growing, with a 29% increase between 1998 and 2005, (ONS 2006).

  • Creative Industries, a smaller industrial grouping of the cultural sector, make a significant contribution to the region’s economy, According to the Regional Economic Strategy Evidence Base, this sector generated revenues of £5.54 billion and GVA of £1.847 billion in 2001 (£2.024 billion in 2002) (SWRDA, 20071 2 ). Employment grew by 8.2% between 2000 and 2004, compared to a 1% decline across Great Britain. In 2004, the sector supported 53,300 jobs of which a high proportion were concentrated in the West of England sub-region (18,300), although Devon exhibited a high growth rate of 75% from 1998 to 2004.

  • Families in the South West spend more on ‘recreation and culture’ as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) than they do on either housing, or food and non-alcoholic drinks. ‘Recreation and culture’ is the second largest category of average weekly household expenditure in the South West after transport, (ONS 2003).
  • In terms of tourism, the South West in 2005 attracted 21.25 million domestic visitors from the UK (UK Tourism Survey) and 2.1 million visitors from overseas (International Passenger Survey) together spending £4.7 billion, (UK Tourism survey).
  • Between 2001-04, the South West was granted the fifth highest level of Lottery funding for cultural activities of the nine English regions, receiving £198 million compared to the national average (excluding London) of £183 million, (Kingshurst Consultant Group 2004).
  • Participation and attendance rates by adults in cultural activities are relatively high in the South West with 73.2% making at least one visit over the past 12 months to a heritage environments and 73.5% to an arts event compared to other English regions (DCMS, Taking Part Survey, 2007 3 )
  • An above average rate of 21.9% of adults (aged 16 and over) in the South West are regularly active compared to the national average of 21%. However, nearly half (49.2%) of adults do not take part in any moderate intensity sport or active recreation ((ipsos MORI Active People Survey, 2006).
  • Cultural activities such as hobbies, sports, religion and volunteerism are shown to promote health and well-being in later life and to generate social capital (Hennessey and Giarchi, 2006)
  • Cultural assets and resources are essential to the region’s economic prosperity, regional identity and to a sustainable tourism industry. Following public consultation on the region’s cultural spatial plan, People, Places and Spaces: A Cultural Infrastructure Development Strategy will be published in spring 2008 (Culture South West http://www.culturesouthwest.org.uk ).
  • Research by a national tourism and heritage partnership shows the positive and negative impacts of climate change on cultural assets and visitor numbers of equal application to the South West where heritage and tourism make significant contributions to economic and cultural sustainability, (Cassar, M. 2005).