Last updated at 14:11, Monday, 03 August 2009

In times of recession, when the public are worrying about their jobs, a lack of culture is probably not the concern which keeps people awake at night.

Street artists The Fairly Famous Family in Carlisle in May

But Carlisle Renaissance says investment in the likes of the arts and heritage is as much about boosting the economy as giving people quality choices for how they spend their free time.

The question is, how to go about creating a cultural nirvana?

And what exactly do people want it to be?

According to a report commissioned by Carlisle Renaissance, people want the following ideals:

• A beautiful, cared for city with a wide choice of cultural activities and opportunities that reflect the increasing diversity of local communities and the multi-ethnic character of the nation.

• The youthful buzz of a successful university city with a vibrant, round-the-clock culture and lots of interesting, small, independent shops.

• A chance to experience events that make new and imaginative uses of superb historic locations.

• A city that welcomes, encourages and sustains artists and creative professionals.

• A city to be proud of, that many want to visit and few want to leave.

The people doing the ‘wanting’ are admittedly not randomly selected members of the public.

The majority of those questioned for the Culture in Carlisle report were involved in the city’s cultural sector.

But many of their desires will be shared by residents.

Bryan Gray, chairman of Carlisle Renaissance, is convinced the aspirations will be beneficial to all. He said: “Culture is the glue that binds communities together, gives a place identity and engenders pride in where we live.

“For these reasons, culture underpins everything that Carlisle Renaissance is working to achieve, which is why we are also committing to supporting cultural development in the city.

“It is clear from my conversations with people, and the recent debate on culture in local newspapers over the last few weeks, that cultural and creative industries are alive and kicking in Carlisle.

“It is also apparent that local people feel as passionately about building on this potential as Renaissance does, and that a degree of focus and leadership is required to further develop this thinking and turn thoughts into action.”

The report recommends setting up a dedicated organisation to push the agenda forward.

It suggests starting with an informal grouping then reviewing its status at a later date – the staged approach is due to the current ‘wariness’ of such creating such an agency.

However, the report does detail the need for an executive director to lead the ‘independent but accountable’ cultural development group.

There are numerous proposals for renaissance contained in the report.

They cover themes such as the performing arts, the historic quarter, exhibitions, industrial heritage and Roman heritage.

An arts centre with performance space, stronger links between Tullie House and the Tate, involvement in the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games are some of the ideas.

Increasing military presence at the castle with soldiers on parade like at Edinburgh Castle, opening a visitors centre at Citadel Station and introducing new festivals are other examples.

It is thought people would be encouraged to visit existing attractions by raising awareness of what’s on offer plus making improvements to pedestrian links between sites and putting up more prominent signs.

There also needs to be a shift in the city’s mentality, the report argues. It states that there are many who do not connect the economic success of a city with the quality of its cultural life, people who maybe view culture itself as elitist.

There are high expectations that the University of Cumbria, which is noted in the report as one of the city’s strongest assets, will be an agent for change as well as a source of new energy and new people.

Carlisle’s heritage, geography and were also listed as reasons for optimism about the city’s cultural potential.

On the downside, perceived weaknesses included the lack of a four-star hotel, a struggling nighttime economy that seems to be solely based on Botchergate and a shortage of marketing know-how.

The report warned that there was a strong feeling among the people questioned that culture was not high on the agenda of local councillors.

They felt there was no influential champion to generate support, that the council is averse to risk and might be wary of the ‘unpredictability’ associated with arts projects.

Mike Mitchelson, leader of Carlisle City Council, strongly disagrees. He told the News & Star it would have been better if members’ views had been sought, and included in the report.

Mr Mitchelson added: “The criticisms are very unfair. The council funds, organises and gives a lot of staff time to cultural events. There is no statutory requirement to do so, but we have invested a lot in culture over the years. It is very high on our agenda and will remain so.”

Mr Mitchelson said the lengthy list of the city council’s work includes Carlisle Fireshow, international series of orchestras, the Festival of Nations, The Spring Show, Brampton Live and numerous projects with Tullie House.

Cultural development is obviously a long term project which needs to be interlinked with other plans for regeneration. So results may be slow to appear, and not always tangible when they do. It’s no small undertaking but Ian McNichol, director of Carlisle Renaissance, is confident that efforts to turn ambition into reality are underway.

He said: “Remediation works at Caldew Riverside, needed to bring about the development of the new university campus, could begin in six months. Negotiations continue with Tesco to secure part of their site and the university is selecting architects for the scheme.

“The city centre is set to get a boost as retailers and other businesses team up with both councils to direct extra investment into maintaining and promoting the area.

“I expect this partnership will also help to resolve the long-standing issues around access and parking which are vital to the sustainability of the whole of the city centre, including the development of the university and attracting more people into the city’s historic quarter.”

SJohnson@cngroup.co.uk

First published at 11:30, Monday, 03 August 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk