Pioneering Creativity is the creative and cultural strategy for Rochdale. Developed through broad consultation, it identifies a vision of Rochdale as a creatively ambitious borough where diverse communities enjoy equal access to experience, create, work and learn through great art and culture.
Rochdale Culture Board was established in 2020 to drive forward this strategy. The Board soon observed how Rochdale had bid on several occasions in recent years to secure significant capital funding to support the development of its creative and cultural assets. Whilst bids had often made the final selection, they had yet to ‘get over the line’. The Board identified significant knowledge gaps inhibiting the borough’s potential to create a realistic and over-arching perspective in relation to the future and particularly to make a strong economic case for the inclusion of creative and cultural capital projects within existing or new opportunities.
Within this context, Counterculture was appointed in August 2020 to undertake a strategic review of Rochdale’s creative assets and infrastructure and to develop a value-based creative and cultural assets strategy, which would strengthen existing and future bidding opportunities and unlock the potential economic return of culture and the creative industries to the borough. This initial 6-month engagement involved:
• A full review of relevant data and literature, including policies, strategies, statistics, reports, reviews, feasibility studies, plans and proposals;
• Primary research and site visits to identify, map and evaluate key assets, gaps, issues, constraints and opportunities;
• Consultation with over 60 local stakeholders including interviews and focus groups with artists and practitioners, creative and cultural organisations, education and training providers, community organisations, local businesses and policymakers;
• Synthesis and development of key findings into a strategic plan and investment strategy, underpinned by a logic model and benefits realisation framework for articulating and measuring the potential social and economic impacts of the strategy.
The review found evidence of local market failure in the availability of affordable creative workspace and flexible grassroots spaces for small projects, exhibitions, events, performances and access to advice, information, training and networking. This required urgent attention if Rochdale was to be able to retain, attract and grow a high-quality creative workforce and cultural offer against strong competition from Manchester and other nearby towns and cities. The review also found that, like many urban centres, Rochdale faces issues of poor connectivity, severance and dilapidation, compounded by and contributing to negative perceptions of the town. The review concluded that investing in cultural infrastructure to create more coherent, connected and attractive town centres would help address these issues and had a compelling economic logic.
Our final report was submitted in December 2020. Sometimes, this is where the story ends. Not in Rochdale.
A strategic plan to take forward the recommendations of the review was agreed by RBC early in 2021. For the next year, we continued to work closely with local partners and stakeholders to develop feasibility studies, business plans, spatial masterplans and large-scale funding bids to Arts Council England (ACE) and UK Government with the aim of building capacity within the local creative and cultural sector and progressing three key priorities from the action plan:
(1)To establish a town-centre Cultural Improvement District (CID) incorporating existing assets, new spaces and improved public realm through investment in signage, branding, paving, lighting, art, programming and marketing to improve attraction, wayfinding and experience, knit together development zones and make new connections across the town through culture.
(2)To rebrand, reconfigure and reimagine Rochdale’s main cultural venues (Touchstones Museum & Art Gallery, Heywood Civic Centre and Middleton Arena) creating flagship “culture hubs” across the borough with new, improved and more sustainable spaces for artistic production, creative enterprise, innovation, education, training, community engagement, events, exhibitions and performances.
(3)To pilot an innovative Cultural Compact and Cooperative Leadership model building on existing networks, best practice models and research.
In March 2022, Rochdale was awarded £4.2m from Round 2 of the DCMS Cultural Development Fund – one of only 7 successful applicants across England to share in the £28m total allocation. Matched by £3.8m from local partners including Rochdale Council, Rochdale Development Agency and Your Trust, the £8m overall scheme will go a long way towards delivering the priorities above.
Again, the story does not end there. At the time of writing, we continue to work closely with partners in the borough to develop: the model for Rochdale Cultural Compact; a borough-wide strategy for events and festivals; a new business, operations and events plan for the Town Hall (currently undergoing a £20m restoration); and an application for Touchstones to join the ACE National Portfolio from 2023, in addition to advising on the borough’s Levelling Up plans.
Rochdale is fast becoming an exemplar of how to develop and deliver place-based creative and cultural strategy – through shared vision, evidence-based strategy, cooperation and perseverance. We look forward to seeing the borough’s continuing cultural and economic renaissance and working with our friends and partners there in the months and years to come.