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Cultural Infrastructure (Culture, State of the South West 2011)

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11.7.1 This section examines the state of the region’s hard and ‘soft’ cultural and sporting facilities and resources, and future trends. The South West has an international reputation for the quality and breadth of its cultural and sporting assets, together forming an infrastructure of benefit to local residents and visitors alike. A
cultural infrastructure development strategy, People, Places and Spacesand is complemented by the Culture and Sport Physical Assets Mapping Toolkit (TBR, August 2010). The latter provides guidance on auditing and decision-making processes, regarding the location and quantity of local culture and sport resources in an area. According to CASE’s Regional Insight: South West, there are 26,600 physical assets located in the region.
11.7.1.1 In 2009, English Heritage commissioned research to explore the role of the historic environment in creating a stronger sense of place. The research (Graham et al, June 2009) produced the first robust evidence base, demonstrating a strong link between the historic environment and a stronger sense of place. Key findings from the report include:

  • The historic environment has a positive and important relationship to people's sense of place;
  • Adults who live in areas with higher concentrations of historic environment (such as the South West) are likely to have a stronger sense of place;
  • Adults who are more interested in the hist Infrastructure oric environment are more likely to have a stronger sense of place.

11.7.1.2 In the South West, Heritage Counts 2010 reported: 6,968 scheduled monuments (a third of England’s total and an increase of 65 between 2003 and 2010), 88,676 listed buildings (an increase of 461 between 2003 and 2010). The National Trust open 83 historic houses and gardens in the South West and English Heritage open over 100 historic sites, including Stonehenge and TintagelCastle. In addition to land-based historic sites, there are 23 marine-based protected historic wrecks registered for the South West (50% of all those for England in 2010). These historic assets pose considerable challenges to their custodians and local authority owners, not least being the impacts of climate change and public spending cuts.
11.7.2.1 There are currently 294 registered historic parks and gardens, and 1,534 conservation areas in the South West. The region's natural heritage forms an integral part of individual local cultural identities and a distinct tourist offer, with Important Areas of Outstanding Beauty such as the Cotswolds, Mendips, Quantocks, the National Parks of Dartmoor and Exmoor, and coastlines of Dorset and Devon (Jurassic Coast) and Cornwall. Four UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located within the South West: - Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; the City of Bath; Dorset and East Devon Coast (the Jurassic Coast); and the Cornwall
and West Devon Mining Landscape.
11.7.3.1 Of increased importance to the South West, is the number and variety of large-scale cultural and sporting festivals and events that attract huge audiences and generate considerable inward investment and revenues. On the arts and media side, these include: Bath International Music Festival, Glastonbury Music Festival, Bath Literature Festival and the Jane Austen Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival and Screenwriting Festival, Encounters International Short Film Festival and Wildscreen Natural History Film Festival as well as Ashton Gate Balloon Festival and St Paul’s Carnival in Bristol, the Bridgwater Carnival, the Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay and the Daphne du Maurier Festival in Cornwall. For sports events and venues, these include: Cheltenham Races, Somerset Cricket Ground, Bath Rugby Ground, and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games training camps and event sites at, for example, University of Bath and the National Sailing Academy at Weymouth.

11.7.3.2 There is a paucity of evidence about existing and future convergences between the region’s cultural and creative assets, and tourism in the South West. While it is easy to deduce from quantitative data (as outlined above), that the number and singularity of such assets correspond to the visitor economy, more nuanced interpretation is needed for future planning and development purposes.

11.7.3.3 According to Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (Murray, 2009) there are approximately 2,000 museums, galleries, libraries and archives in the South West, serving a wide constituency and range of specialist interest groups. These buildings and collections form a valuable knowledge bank for local communities, as well as for visitors and scholars. According to Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, museums in the region have benefited from £23.8 million as part of the Renaissance programme, with Investment focused on five ‘Hub’ museums in Bristol, Bournemouth, Exeter, Plymouth and Truro.

11.7.3.4 CASE analysis of selected data sources for the period 2004/05 to 2008/09, found non-capital investment by local authorities in the South West increased by 10% (reaching approximately £337 million), and an increase of 78% increase in capital investment (reaching £71 million – not including heritage). The majority of 2008/09 non-capital spend was on sports and MLA sector, with arts spend increasing by 13% compared to an England average of 9%. Of local authorities ranked by non-capital investment in CASE sectors, the top five were: Bristol, Bournemouth, Swindon, Plymouth, Bath and North East Somerset. A similar ranking is shown below for capital investment, with Bristol the highest spender in MLA and arts sectors, Bournemouth in sports and Swindon in libraries (see Table 11.7.3.1). Examination of the full list of local authorities shows significantly different levels of spend that relates to their population size.

Table 11.7.3.1 Top Local Authorities for capital investment in new construction conversion
and renovation by investment area in 2008/09

 Investment Area
  Local Authority
  Investment (£000s)
 Museums and Galleries
  City of Bristol
  12,656
 Arts Activities and Facilities
  City of Bristol
  10,619
 Sports Facilities
  Bournemouth  5,661
 Library Services
 Swindon  5,148
 Source: Regional Insight: South West, CASE
   

11.7.3.5 While the historic built environment forms an important part of the region’s infrastructure, there are, of course, a growing number of new-build and refurbished cultural facilities. These include such popular sites as The Eden Project in Cornwall, Watershed in Bristol, Swindon Central Library and the re-furbished Bournemouth International Centre. Also notable are the range, quality and size of sporting facilities listed in Sport England’s Active Places database (Sport England, 2010), that signify a substantial infrastructure for residents and visitors to engage in sports and active recreation.