Mayors in England should be handed significant new powers and responsibilities over the creative, cultural and heritage life of their regions, according to a new report.
Findings from a year-long development programme on cultural devolution have been published by not-for-profit consultancy Culture Commons and 30 partners, including councils and combined authorities from across the UK.
They set out several recommendations that could be implemented this parliament.
Local authorities in the UK should be empowered to set new ‘cultural plans’ to prioritise the creative, cultural and heritage sectors in their area, the report says.
It advises that new towns designed to reach housebuilding targets incorporate cultural infrastructure ‘right from the outset’.
The Government should also develop a national fund dedicated to the ‘creative, cultural and heritage ecosystem’, distributed based on need, not competition.
Culture Commons CEO Trevor MacFarlane said: ‘We hope the work we are publishing today sets a solid foundation for a lively debate about how more localised decision making might play out from here.’
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor Nik Johnson said: ‘Together, we've been getting expertise from right across the UK and begun laying out a pathway towards a more inclusive and sustainable ecosystem.
‘This is going help us make sure that more and more people here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have access to, but also help shape, the creative, cultural and heritage life the region.’
