Heritage Led Regeneration in Kingston Town Centre Appendix B

Home , Kingston Museum, Kingston Regatta

RESPONSE AND RECOVERY COMMITTEE

13 MAY 2021

STRATEGIC OUTLINE BUSINESS CASE APPENDICES

This pack contains the following surveys referenced in the report & Outline Business Case:

 Appendix 4 - Heritage Report  Appendix 5 - Made in Kingston - Cultural Strategy  Appendix 6 - Kingston Cultural Infrastructure Needs Assessment

NOTE: Appendices 1 (Redloft Viability Business Case), 2 (KKP Leisure Facilities Need Assessment), 3 (LASR Emerging Findings Report) and 7 (Development Advice - Guildhall Kingston) considered exempt from publication on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Guildhall Redevelopment Programme Preliminary Heritage Advice Note Prepared for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames April 2021

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1936/40/JWi 16 April 2021

Guildhall Redevelopment Programme Preliminary Heritage Advice Note

1.0 Summary This is a rapid initial assessment of the potential heritage risks and opportunities of the Guildhall Redevelopment Programme. Its findings are subject to more detailed analysis at the next stages of the project. The assessment finds that there are considerable opportunities to enhance the historic environment of Kingston Town Centre, for example in the public realm and setting of Kingston Guildhall, the Hogsmill River and Coronation Stone, and in the relationship of a leisure centre and other development on the Kingfisher site to the Public Library and Museum and adjoining streets. The options in the Feasibility Stage Report: Guildhall Masterplan (EPR Architects, February 2018) and the Kingfisher Leisure Centre: Concept Design Report (Faulkner Browns Architects, April 2021) also contain elements of risk. Some of these, such as alterations to the interior of the Guildhall and possible rooftop development, are medium risks that can be addressed through design development. The impact of taller buildings – over c. 12 stories – may carry a higher risk because of the potential for impact on views from Hampton Court Palace, Richmond Park and Bushy Park, sites of exceptional heritage significance to which Historic England has afforded considerable importance in discussions over similar schemes in Kingston Town Centre. Further design development and engagement with Historic England and others will be necessary to better understand the degree of risk in this case and implement mitigation measures accordingly. 2.0 Introduction Alan Baxter has been appointed by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBKuT) to undertake a heritage Feasibility Study to inform the Guildhall Redevelopment Programme (GhRP) business case. The GhRP envisages a comprehensive redevelopment of three Council- owned sites within Kingston upon Thames, namely: • The Guildhall Campus, comprising a series of civic buildings and public spaces including the Grade II listed Kingston Guildhall and Grade I listed Coronation Stone, to the south of the town centre; • The Kingfisher Leisure Centre site, comprising a 1980s leisure centre, Kingston Public Library and Museum (both Grade II listed), and an adjoining public open space, to the east of the town centre; • The Cattle Market Car Park site, comprising a surface-level car park with two basement levels, lying immediately north of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre site. This Preliminary Heritage Advice Note has been rapidly prepared to inform early-stage discussions regarding the options for the future redevelopment of the Guildhall Campus and Kingfisher Leisure Centre/Cattle Market Car Park sites. It provides a summary of the heritage assets (both designated and non-designated) which could potentially experience impacts on significance as a result of development of these sites, and summarises the key design considerations and project heritage risks and opportunities.

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The note is informed by an initial desk-based review of the existing site conditions and outline options for the sites set out in the Feasibility Stage Report: Guildhall Masterplan (EPR Architects, February 2018) and the Kingfisher Leisure Centre: Concept Design Report (Faulkner Brown Architects, April 2021). Because of Covid restrictions and programme constraints, no site visit has been undertaken and the advice given is subject to this caveat. The heritage assets discussed in this Note have been identified following an initial review of the strategic context of each development site. It is possible that further heritage assets that might be affected by the proposed development will be identified in the detailed assessment of the baseline heritage context that will inform future stages of the GhRP.

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3.0 Guildhall Campus 3.1 Introduction The Guildhall Campus lies in the southern part of the town centre of Kingston upon Thames, and contains a series of buildings and public realm bound by the High Street to the west, Bath Passage to the north, St James’ Road to the east and Kingston Hall Road (A307) to the south. The Hogsmill River, a tributary of the River Thames, passes through the site, running on a dog- leg path from its north-west corner and curving to the south-east. Within the site there are a series of public buildings and structures, including the Grade II listed Kingston Guildhall (built in 1935), two further Council office buildings known as Guildhall 1 and Guildhall 2 (built in 1975-78), and the Grade I listed Coronation Stone (of Medieval origin, bounded by railings and piers of 1850). The greater part of the site (excluding Guildhall 1 and 2) lies within the Kingston Old Town Conservation Area. 3.2 Heritage context The table below outlines heritage assets that may experience a degree of change to their significance and/or setting through the redevelopment of the Guildhall Campus. Heritage asset National/Local Designation(s) Location in relation to the site Within the site boundary The Guildhall Grade II Within the red line Coronation Stone Grade I Within the red line Clattern Bridge Grade I and scheduled monument Within the red line Kingston Old Town Conservation Area Conservation Area Within the red line Immediately adjacent to the site 4 Eden Street Grade II North 8-18 High Street (evens) Locally listed North-west 43 Market Place (Financier & Firkin Locally listed North PH) 6 Eden Street Locally listed North 14 Eden Street Locally listed North 18 Eden Street (Eagle Chambers) Locally listed North In the vicinity of the site Heritage assets on the east and west Grade II and II* West sides of Kingston High Street Locally listed

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Heritage assets within and around the Grade II, II* and I North Market Place Locally listed Further afield – RBKuT Fairfield/Knight’s Park Conservation Conservation Area East Area Contains listed and locally listed buildings

Grove Crescent Conservation Area Conservation area South-east Contains listed and locally listed buildings Riverside South Conservation Area Conservation area South-west Contains listed and locally listed buildings Riverside North Conservation Area Conservation Area North-west Contains listed and locally listed buildings Other heritage assets within the town Grade II listed West and centre north Locally listed Further afield – London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Hampton Court Palace and Park Grade I listed palace West Grade II, II* or I ancillary buildings and structures Scheduled monument Grade I registered park and garden Conservation Area Bushy Park Grade I registered park and garden West Grade II and I listed buildings and structures within the park Conservation Area Hampton Wick Conservation Area Conservation Area West Hampton Court Green Conservation Conservation Area West Area Richmond Park Grade I registered park and garden North-east Listed buildings and scheduled monument within the park Conservation Area Ham House Grade I listed house North Grade II* registered park and garden Grade II, II*, I listed ancillary buildings and structures Conservation Area (LBRuT)

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3.3 Design considerations, opportunities and risks The development site contains some of Kingston’s most significant heritage assets in both a local and national context. In addition, there are many designated and non-designated heritage assets within the immediate vicinity of the site, particularly to the north and west, within the historic core of Kingston. The redevelopment of the Guildhall Campus should therefore place great weight on positively responding to the rich historic built environment within and around the site. The Guildhall Campus is an opportunity for heritage-led regeneration in the heart of Kingston, with opportunities to enhance the significance and setting of some of Kingston’s most prominent heritage assets as part of a wider programme of townscape improvements. Nevertheless, redevelopment within a sensitive heritage context always carries a degree of planning risk, due to the potential for harmful impacts upon the significance and setting of heritage assets both nearby and further afield (such as Hampton Court Palace). The following sub-sections outline the key heritage opportunities and risks associated with the redevelopment of the Guildhall Campus. The current proposals for the redevelopment of the Guildhall Campus are understood to break down into two interrelated aspects: • the conversion of the Grade II listed Guildhall, potentially into hotel use • the comprehensive redevelopment of the wider site, including the replacement of Guildhall 1 and 2 with new, mixed-use buildings, alongside public realm enhancements. Potential heritage impacts (positive and negative) derive from both physical impacts and non- physical impacts (changes to the setting of heritage assets). 3.3.1 Conversion of the Grade II listed Guildhall Kingston Guildhall is a fine example of a large 1930s civic centre which consolidated under one roof the Council’s burgeoning workforce employed in municipal and civic functions. Numerous changes are understood to have been made to the internal layout over the years, although primary circulation spaces and civic rooms such as the Mayor’s Parlour and Council Chamber are understood to remain largely as built. A roof extension was added during the 1960s which sensitively replicated the existing building’s external design, and added further floor space to the building. Consequently, the building provides a large amount of floor space within which the relative heritage significance of different spaces and fabric is likely to vary considerably. Heritage-led conversion The conversion of the building potentially to hotel use is likely to require significant alterations throughout the building. Proposals for change should be guided from the earliest possible stage by an understanding of the relative heritage significance of fabric and spaces: more extensive interventions should be targeted at areas of lesser or neutral significance, while a lighter-touch approach should be taken in spaces of higher significance, such as the primary civic rooms and circulation spaces. Carrying out extensive changes to areas of higher significance is likely to carry greater planning risk, particularly if alternative options for the proposed changes are available. The heritage significance of the Guildhall should be considered holistically. Significance often extends beyond physical fabric to the layout, hierarchy, function and associative power of spaces. For example, many town halls, including Kingston Guildhall, have specially-planned ceremonial routes and interlinking civic spaces which are of historic or architectural interest not just because of their high-quality design, but also because of what the relationship between these spaces can tell us about the historic operation and function of the building. The design team should consider ways of celebrating these elements of the building’s significance which go

Page 6 of 21 Guildhall Redevelopment Programme – Preliminary Heritage Advice Note beyond high-quality, historic fabric, for example the importance of ceremonial or functional routes between spaces or the historic function of spaces. A review of existing floor plans and limited internal photographs suggests that the principal civic and public spaces, such as the Council Chamber, Mayor’s Parlour, Members Room, and the lower-ground-floor courtrooms, retain their original plan form and have been altered fairly little since construction. The offices and meeting rooms are cellular spaces, which may reflect the original arrangement, but are likely to have been altered to a greater extent than the principal civic spaces. The design team should seek to avoid subdividing or significantly altering principal spaces, especially those in which there is a high degree of survival of historic fabric. Where cellular offices and meeting rooms have to be combined to support the new function of the building, this should be guided by an understanding of the original plan form of the building and the extent of surviving historic fabric within these spaces, which should be retained where possible. Combining cellular offices, particularly where it would result in the loss of the original plan form or fabric of heritage significance, would carry a degree of risk in causing harm to the overall significance of the building. This harm would have to be justified and balanced by planning benefits. Conversely, the third floor (added in the 1960s) is largely open-plan, and is unlikely to carry the same heritage significance as spaces on the original, lower floors. A greater extent of alteration is likely to be possible on this floor, without carrying the same degree of heritage risk. Rooftop and courtyard development The project team should continue to explore the creation of new floor space in and around the Guildhall, such as through a rooftop development or the partial infilling of the internal courtyards. This could potentially allow the creation of spaces purpose-built for alternative uses (such as a hotel) and therefore reduce the need for more extensive alterations to spaces of heritage significance within the existing building. Any potential rooftop development would have to demonstrate a successful response to the significance of the building, and to the character and appearance of the Kingston Old Town Conservation Area. Rooftop and courtyard development would likely carry a degree of planning risk if adjudged to cause harm to the significance of the listed building, and therefore be contrary to planning policy. The project team would need to have a clear and convincing justification for any harm caused through such development, and may have to consider measures to mitigate this through design or other changes. Similarly, the infilling of the courtyards should be guided by an understanding of the relative heritage significance of these spaces, not just in terms of the survival and quality of historic fabric, but also the contribution of these spaces to one’s wider understanding of the design and function of the building as a whole. Change of use The conversion of the Guildhall to a new use has potential public and heritage benefits in allowing the building to remain open to the public (albeit in an alternatively controlled fashion), including potentially opening significant parts of the building to which the public currently have more limited access. However, conversion may also cause some heritage harm in changing the building’s original and to date only use as the civic heart of Kingston. There are many recent examples of listed Town Halls and other municipal buildings within London and elsewhere that have been converted to new uses. The project team should be aware that a clear and convincing justification would be required to justify the building’s conversion away from its original use, such as providing the listed building with a long-term viable use and a programme of sensitive refurbishment of the spaces of heritage significance.

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3.3.2 Redevelopment of the wider Guildhall Campus The Guildhall Campus lies in a ‘fringe’ location on the edge of Kingston town centre, where the densely-developed, lower-rise character of the historic commercial core transitions into larger, twentieth-century (generally post-war) office and retail developments and low-rise residential areas beyond. Evidence of the Campus’ transitionary location is provided by the boundary of the Kingston Old Town Conservation Area, which runs east-west through the site along the Hogsmill River, excluding Guildhall 1 and 2. The Campus project is an opportunity to more successfully tie together the greatly varied townscape typologies around the site and in doing so create a more attractive and vibrant part of the town centre. Replacement of Guildhall 1 and 2 An initial rapid assessment indicated that Guildhall 1 and 2 do not appear to be of special architectural or historical interest and make no positive contribution to the setting of the Grade II listed Guildhall and Kingston Old Town Conservation Area. Replacing these 1970s office buildings with new development of the highest design quality presents the opportunity to enhance the setting of these heritage assets. Form, mass, height, materials and public realm will all be relevant to achieving this. Responding to context The urban morphology and distribution of heritage assets around the site provide a clear guide for the arrangement of height and massing within the development site. Placing greater height and massing in the south and south-east parts of the site would likely reduce the visual impact of the proposed development on the historic townscape and responds to the wider townscape of Kingston (see section 2.3.6 below for tall buildings). Any proposed new development should look to the existing townscape for cues to the appropriate height, design and materiality. The richness of architecture, materiality and detailing within Kingston Old Town Conservation Area provides a great range to draw on. In particular, the relationship between new buildings and the listed Guildhall will be of paramount importance in producing a successful scheme in heritage terms. The height of the new development should avoid a reduction in the prominence of the Guildhall in views from the local area, particularly from within the Old Town Conservation Area. The Guildhall’s use of simple, geometric shapes and a simple but complementary palette of materials (red brick, Portland stone, ironwork detailing) could be looked to for design cues. Preserving important views When testing the distribution of heights and massing across the site, particular attention should be paid to preserving key views of heritage assets (individually and as groups). A Views Study Report was produced in 2018 as part of the evidence base for RBKuT’s emerging Local Plan (2020-2041). The preservation of the views identified within it will likely be a material consideration in planning decisions once the new local plan is adopted. The design team should be aware that several of the views identified within the document are angled towards the Guildhall Campus or are direct or glimpsed views of the Guildhall itself (see section 3.3.5 below for tall buildings). 3.3.3 Public realm improvements Public realm improvements within the Guildhall Campus represent a significant opportunity to enhance the setting of the Grade II listed Guildhall, the Grade I Coronation Stone (see below),

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and the character and appearance of the Kingston Old Town Conservation Area. The site benefits from a fairly porous layout, with connections to the wider area in most directions. This aspect of the existing site could be enhanced, to increase public access to the Grade II listed Guildhall. In particular, opportunities for improving the link between the Guildhall and the Market Place should be explored, to tie together the historic civic and commercial hearts of historic Kingston. The Hogsmill River is a significant element of Kingston’s historic townscape character. However, the existing buildings within the Guildhall Campus generally turn their backs to it with the result that the river feels hidden away and inaccessible. The design team should continue to look at ways of integrating it as a focus for the landscape and public realm design of the redevelopment. This could include the enhancement or creation of new views of the Grade I listed and scheduled Clattern Bridge, which lies just within the current site boundary. 3.3.4 The Coronation Stone The Coronation Stone is a highly significant heritage asset both in a local and national context, which is inextricably linked to the name and history of Kingston. However, its current location and setting give the impression of it being ‘tucked away’ within the forecourt of the Guildhall, and do not encourage public access to or appreciation of the asset. There is a clear opportunity to substantially enhance the setting of this Grade I listed asset, either through integrating it into a greatly improved public realm around the Guildhall, or through relocating it to a more prominent part of the town centre. In this context, the project team should be aware that Listed Building Consent was granted in 2013 for the relocation of the Coronation Stone and its Victorian railings and pedestal to the churchyard of All Saints Church, to the north of the market square (LPA reference: 13/12409/LBC). Although this Consent has now expired, it indicates that there is an appetite for considering relocation of the Stone to an appropriate location where it can be better and more widely appreciated. 3.3.5 Impact of tall buildings As outlined in the London Plan, tall buildings provide opportunities for regeneration through creating new homes and economic growth, while examples of exemplary architectural quality – and in the right place – can make a positive contribution to London’s cityscape. However, the Plan also notes that they can have a detrimental visual, functional and environmental impact if in inappropriate locations and/or of poor-quality design. If tall buildings (as defined by the Local Development Framework) are to form part of the redevelopment, the design team should continuously test the visual impacts of the proposed buildings to ascertain if harm would be caused to the setting of heritage assets. If harm is found to occur, this could represent a significant planning risk. Ways of removing or reducing this harm should be explored, to de-risk the planning application, and mitigating steps taken to resolve any residual harm that cannot be resolved due to other planning considerations. The Eden Quarter Development Brief SPD (March 2015) forms part of RBKuT’s Local Development Framework. It sets out opportunities for the regeneration of central and eastern parts of Kingston town centre and establishes overarching guidelines for the form and design of a coordinated redevelopment of the area. The scope of the SPD extends to include Guildhall 1 and surrounding areas of public realm within the red line boundary of the Guildhall Campus site. Section 3.5 sets out guidance on what heights may be appropriate for new buildings within the study area. It suggests that buildings of 6-8 storeys in height may be appropriate in the location of Guildhall 1. Any future development proposals for the Guildhall Campus should take this recommendation as a starting point, and establish how these general recommendations should be adapted to the site-specific conditions in terms of the impact of proposed new buildings upon the historic built environment.

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Options have been explored for the provision of new, taller buildings ranging from 16 to 22 storeys in height within the Guildhall Campus. The project team should be aware of the potential visual impacts of buildings of this height upon the many heritage assets within the site and its immediate vicinity, but should equally take account of heritage assets located further afield which may have a high sensitivity to change to their setting. Figure 1.0 (page 11) is a Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) diagram illustrating the likely visibility from the surrounding area of a sixteen-storey building on the proposed site indicated in the Guildhall Masterplan Feasibility Stage Report (EPR Architects, 2018), using GIS modelling. It suggests that a sixteen- storey building in this location would be highly visible from the surrounding area, including from within the open parklands of Hampton Court Park, Bushy Park and Richmond Park, which lie further away from the site. These impacts should be continuously monitored through the testing of views of and from individual heritage assets as well as the wider historic townscape. Buildings of the heights proposed in the 2018 feasibility study would likely carry considerable planning risk in heritage terms and would have to be accompanied by a clear and convincing justification for the harm caused to the historic environment. Additionally, this harm would have to be outweighed by substantial public benefits delivered by the proposals. Where the proposed buildings are found to have a harmful impact upon the setting of heritage assets, design changes to remove, reduce or mitigate this harm, should be explored to reduce the planning risk. This may include reducing the height of buildings, in addition to potentially redesigning them. In particular, the project team should take account of comments made by Historic England on recent nearby applications for major redevelopment schemes, such as the former Kingston Post Office site on Ashdown Road (LPA reference: 14/13247/FUL). Historic England placed particular emphasis on the harmful visual impact of taller buildings within Kingston town centre upon views out of Hampton Court Park and Bushy Park, which lie to the west of the GhRP sites, and Richmond Park, which lies to the north, to which Historic England attaches great weight and importance. New buildings of proposed heights of 12 and 16 storeys within the former Post Office site, which lies between the Guildhall Campus and Kingfisher/Cattle Market sites, were judged to have a harmful impact upon the setting of these highly-graded heritage assets of international importance, as well as other heritage assets closer at hand, including the Kingston Old Town Conservation Area. 3.3.6 Proximity to borough boundary with LB Richmond upon Thames The boundary between the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames lies close to the Guildhall Campus, following the River Thames northward before cutting inland to the east to include Ham and Richmond Park. This presents a degree of risk, as several highly-graded heritage assets (including Hampton Court) lie within the neighbouring Borough, who may object to the scheme due to the harm experienced by heritage assets within their Borough that isn’t outweighed by public benefits within their Borough. This risk can be significantly reduced through consultation with the neighbouring Borough’s conservation team throughout the design process, as well as the ongoing testing of sensitive views from within the neighbouring Borough.

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Figure 1.0 – Zone of Theoretical Visibility diagram, illustrating the likely visibility of a sixteen-storey building in the current location of Guildhall 2

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4.0 Kingfisher Leisure Centre and Cattle Market Car Park 4.1 Introduction The Kingfisher Leisure Centre and Cattle Market Car Park sites form a contiguous parcel of developed land immediately to the east of Kingston town centre. It is bounded to the north by a Transport for London bus station, to the west by the A307 (Wheatfield Way), to the south by Fairfield Road, and to the east by Drovers Court and Fairfield East. The northern site (Cattle Market Car Park) comprises a surface car park with two basement levels of car parking below. The southern site (Kingfisher Leisure Centre) contains a series of public buildings, namely: the adjoining Kingston Museum and Art Gallery and Kingston Public Library (both Grade II listed, constructed in 1903-04), and the Kingfisher Leisure Centre (constructed in c.1980-1985). To the east of the leisure centre is a public recreation ground. Adjacent to the main, southern entrance to the public library is a portion of marble stonework, purported to be from a thirteenth-century Royal palace that once stood nearby, which is Grade II listed. The southern site lies within the Fairfield/Knights Park Conservation Area. 4.2 Baseline heritage context The table below outlines heritage assets that may experience a degree of change to their significance and/or setting through the redevelopment of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre and Cattle Market Car Park sites. Heritage asset National/Local Designation(s) Location in relation to site Within the site boundary Kingston Public Library, Museum and Art Grade II Within the red Gallery line Stone from King John’s Palace, in the Grade II Within the red courtyard of the public library line

Fairfield/Knights Park Conservation Area Within the red line

Adjacent to the site Former Police Station Grade II North

F. W. Paine Funeral Directors Grade II North 30 Old London Road Grade II North 56 London Road Locally listed North Old London Road Area of Special Character North Contains listed and locally listed buildings 8 bollards at entrance to Fairfield Recreation Locally listed South-east Ground

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In the vicinity of the site Albert Road/Victoria Road – Local Area of Local Area of Special Character East Special Character Kingston Grammar School Grade II East Houses along the south side of Orchard Road Locally listed South-west Castle Street Area of Special Character North-west Further afield – RBKuT Kingston Old Town Conservation Area Conservation Area West Many Grade II, II* and I listed buildings Scheduled monument (Clattern Bridge) Many locally listed buildings Grove Crescent Conservation Area Conservation area South Contains listed and locally listed buildings Riverside South Conservation Area Conservation area South-west Contains listed and locally listed buildings Riverside North Conservation Area Conservation Area North-west Contains listed and locally listed buildings Other heritage assets within the town Grade II listed West and north centre, outside of the Kingston Old Town Locally listed Conservation Area Further afield – London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Hampton Court Palace and Park Grade I listed palace West Grade II, II* or I ancillary buildings and structures Scheduled monument Grade I registered park and garden Conservation Area Bushy Park Grade I registered park and garden West Grade II and I listed buildings and structures within the park Conservation Area Hampton Wick Conservation Area Conservation Area West Hampton Court Green Conservation Area Conservation Area West

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Richmond Park Grade I registered park and garden North-east Listed buildings and scheduled monument within the park Conservation Area Ham House Grade I listed house North Grade II* registered park and garden Grade II, II* and I listed ancillary buildings and structures Conservation Area

4.3 Design considerations, opportunities and risks 4.3.1 Holistic approach to the two sites The two development sites form a single urban block, but one that is currently fragmented due to the layout of the existing buildings and spaces. A successful redevelopment of the sites would treat both sites as a single entity, or indeed, combine the development of the two sites, to create a holistically-designed urban block. The entire site should be designed to respond positively to the character and appearance of the Fairfield/Knights Park Conservation Area – although only the southern site (Kingfisher Leisure Centre) lies within the conservation area, the northern site (Cattle Market Car Park) is bounded by the conservation area to the south and east. Treating the entirety of the two sites as within the conservation area would reduce the project risk. 4.3.2 Responding to context The character of the wider townscape beyond the development sites provides both opportunities and challenges for the redevelopment of the sites. There are three distinct townscape character areas immediately adjacent to the site: • To the west are the higher-rise, larger-footprint commercial buildings of the post-war town- centre redevelopment. • To the north and east are low-rise residential streets and the earlier commercial thoroughfare of Old London Road (locally designated as an Area of Special Character, and containing several nationally or locally listed buildings). • To the south is the public open space of Fairfield Park, which is characterised as two large lawns bound by mature trees. From a heritage perspective, a successful redevelopment of the two sites would take account of these highly distinct townscape characters and respond appropriately to each. The urban morphology and distribution of heritage assets around the site provides an initial guide for where height and massing could be distributed, with the townscape to west being generally less sensitive to change than areas to the south, north and east. 4.3.3 Redevelopment of the car park and recreation ground Taken together, the Kingfisher Leisure Centre and Cattle Market Car Park sites represent a fractured piece of townscape of largely post-war creation. While the listed Museum and Public Library, and the green space east of the leisure centre, contribute positively to the character and appearance of the Fairfield/Knights Park Conservation Area, the remainder of the site is of

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low townscape quality which does not contribute to, and could be argued as detracting from, the setting of nearby heritage assets and the special interest of the conservation area. The redevelopment of these spaces represents an opportunity for new buildings and spaces which positively contribute to and enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area, and the setting of nearby heritage assets. The pre-war history of the sites (as allotments and a recreation ground) does not provide a precedent for their planned redevelopment, but the conservation area to the east and south is characterised by a distinct street grid of terraced housing laid out on a north-south axis. The design team should continue to explore ways in which this historic street grid could be reflected on the site. Improvements to the public realm within and around the site provide another opportunity to enhance the setting of the listed library and museum, as well as the character and appearance of the conservation area. The creation of better links across Wheatfield Way, a busy vehicular route, would help to integrate the development sites into the wider town centre, especially the historic shopping street of Old London Road (a locally-designated Area of Special Character). 4.3.4 Replacement of the leisure centre The existing leisure centre is understood to have been built a short time prior to 1986. An initial review of standard texts and an inspection of the building’s exterior suggest that it is of no special architectural or historic interest. Its demolition is therefore unlikely to be a heritage risk in itself, though Twentieth Century Society intervention cannot be ruled out. The replacement of the current leisure centre represents the opportunity for a new building which responds more successfully to the setting of the adjacent, Grade II listed Museum and Public Library, and to the character and appearance of the Fairfield/ Knights Park Conservation Area. Local planning authorities normally look unfavourably upon planning applications for the demolition of buildings in a conservation area without a planned replacement, if the cleared site would represent a harmful change to the character and appearance of the conservation area. In this instance it may be possible to argue by virtue of the nature and history of the site that no such harm would be caused. The Kingfisher Leisure Centre: Concept Design Report suggests the construction of a new link between the listed museum and the replacement leisure centre. This presents the opportunity for increasing and encouraging public access to the listed building, and improving its integration into the wider redevelopment of the site. The placement and design of the new link should be driven by an understanding on the relative significance of the exterior of the listed museum and the impact of the proposals upon this significance, and should be subservient in form and massing to the listed building. It is understood that the demolition of the leisure centre may require changes to the mechanical and electrical services within the adjacent listed buildings. Improvements to the M&E facilities of the listed buildings represent an opportunity to help to secure the longer-term future, which would be a heritage benefit, but should be carried out in such a way as to preserve or enhance the significance of the listed buildings, for example, by introducing new services as discretely as possible within spaces of higher significance, while removing redundant services which detract from the significance of the building. 4.3.5 Impact of tall buildings The scope of the Eden Quarter Development Brief SPD (March 2015) includes the entire Cattle Market site and the greater part of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre site (not including the recreation ground east of the leisure centre). Section 3.5 sets out guidance on what heights may be appropriate for new buildings within the study area. The greater part of the two

Page 15 of 21 Guildhall Redevelopment Programme – Preliminary Heritage Advice Note development sites is identified as appropriate for buildings of 1-5 storeys, while the western third of the Cattle Market Site is identified as appropriate for buildings of 9+ storeys. Any future development proposals for the Kingfisher Leisure Centre and Cattle Market Car Park sites should take these recommendations as a starting point, and establish how these general recommendations should be adapted to the site-specific conditions in terms of the impact of proposed new buildings upon the historic built environment. It is understood that options are being explored for the creation of taller buildings of upwards of 16 storeys within the Kingfisher/Cattle Market sites. Figure 2.0 is a Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) diagram illustrating the likely visibility from the surrounding area of a seventeen-storey building within the Cattle Market Car Park site, using GIS modelling. It suggests that a building of this height in this location would be highly visible from the surrounding area, including from within the open parklands of Hampton Court Park, Bushy Park and Richmond Park, which lie further away from the site. In some respects, the heritage context of this site is less sensitive than the Guildhall Campus due to its position further away from the historic core of Kingston and from highly-sensitive heritage assets within LB Richmond upon Thames. However, the impact of tall buildings upon the historic built environment will be a key consideration. Harmful impacts upon the setting of heritage assets should be continuously reviewed, and reduced or removed wherever possible in order to de-risk the planning application. As with the Guildhall Campus, the impact of taller buildings upon highly significant heritage assets lying further afield, such as Hampton Court and Richmond Park, could be a considerable planning risk because of the weight and importance afforded to them by LB Richmond and Historic England. They should also be assessed throughout the design process, and inform the design of proposals put forward in planning applications.

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Figure 2.0 – Zone of Theoretical Visibility diagram, illustrating the likely visibility of a seventeen-storey building in the current location of the Cattle Market Car Park

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5.0 Engagement with key heritage stakeholders Alongside a formal pre-application process with the local planning authority, it is recommended that the project team engages with Historic England once initial proposals have been produced to gauge if the statutory heritage body would consider any aspects of the proposed development as causing harm to the historic built environment, and to explore ways in which this harm could be reduced or mitigated. Engaging with Historic England at an early stage, and maintaining this engagement throughout later stages of the design development, is a prudent way of de-risking planning applications in providing an opportunity for the design team to present the design development and proposals in the round, and allowing time to amend the proposals to satisfy the statutory consultee’s concerns ahead of the submission of planning applications. We would also recommend engaging with the Twentieth Century Society, who are a statutory consultee on listed building consent applications affecting listed post-1914 buildings. The conversion of the Guildhall to an alternative use would be of particular interest to the Society. Similar to consulting with Historic England, engaging with the Society at an early stage would de-risk the project in revealing any concerns or suggestions the Society may have with enough time to respond appropriately, rather than waiting until the final planning and listed building consent applications have been submitted.

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6.0 Conclusion The redevelopment of the Guildhall Campus and Kingfisher Leisure Centre/Cattle Market Car Park sites presents considerable opportunities to enhance the townscape of Kingston upon Thames, particularly through improvements to the setting of heritage assets such as the Guildhall and Coronation Stone, and changes to public realm. There are many ways in which the emerging proposals could enhance or better reveal the significance of heritage assets within or adjacent to the sites, some of which are of the very high local and national importance. The conversion of the Guildhall presents the opportunity to provide a long-term viable use for this Grade II listed building. The building’s existing layout, along with the addition of a high- quality rooftop development, could allow the building’s historic and architectural interest to be retained if division of the major public spaces are avoided and interventions required by the conversion are concentrated in areas of lower or neutral heritage significance, such as the office areas. The redevelopment of Guildhall 1 and 2 with new buildings of the highest design quality represents the opportunity to replace buildings which do not positively contribute to the setting of the adjacent Guildhall and Kingston Old Town Conservation Area with new buildings which do so. These heritage benefits should be balanced against an awareness that the conversion of the Guildhall into a new use may be considered to cause harm to the building’s significance and represents a degree of planning risk. In addition, the design team should take full account from the earliest stages of the importance of preserving or enhancing the setting of heritage assets both within the immediate vicinity of the site and further afield, particularly Hampton Court Palace and Park. The replacement of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre offers a clear opportunity to add a new building to the Fairfield/ Knights Park Conservation Area which positively contributes to the special interest of the conservation area, and responds more successfully to the setting of the adjacent, Grade II listed Public Library and Museum than the existing building. Wider redevelopment of the two sites could help to tie the fragmented site back into the wider townscape. The layout, height, massing and design of any future redevelopment has a rich and varied historic built environment to respond to and to draw inspiration from. On both sites, proposals for buildings of up to 16 storeys are the elements of greatest heritage planning risk because of their impact on the setting of a wide range of heritage assets and in particular visibility in views from Richmond and Bushy Parks and Hampton Court Palace. These are views to which Historic England attaches considerable importance because of the exceptional significance of these sites. Historic England has strongly resisted similar proposals in the recent past because of these impacts. Further design development and engagement with Historic England will be necessary to understand the severity of these risks. Therefore, engagement with key heritage stakeholders from the earliest stages of design development is advised, to build a positive dialogue with bodies that are likely to comment future applications, reducing the planning risk.

Page 19 of 21 Guildhall Redevelopment Programme – Preliminary Heritage Advice Note

7.0 References Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, January 2011, Kingston: Towards a Sense of Place – A Borough Character Study to support the Kingston Local Development Framework Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, January 2011, Measured floor plans of Kingston Guildhall Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, March 2015, Eden Quarter Development Brief SPD Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, 5 November 2015, Development Control Committee: Report by the Head of Planning and Transport – Planning Applications, accessed 9 April 2021 at: https://publicaccess.kingston.gov.uk/online- applications/files/7A892612A6A7A9DE3D5490D761FBC2F9/pdf/14_13247_FUL- Copy_of_1413247_AGN_345882-_5th_November_2015-_upd-3273769.pdf Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Interactive Heritage Map, accessed 9 April 2021 at https://maps.kingston.gov.uk/maps/MapPage.aspx?map=heritage Bradley Murphy Design Ltd on behalf of Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, May 2018, The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Views Study Report, accessed 9 April 2021 at: https://www.kingston.gov.uk/downloads/file/654/views-study-part-1 Faulkner Browns Architects, April 2021, Kingfisher Leisure Centre: Concept Design Report EPR Architects, February 2018, Feasibility Stage Report: Guildhall Masterplan, Kingston upon Thames

Page 20 of 21 Guildhall Redevelopment Programme – Preliminary Heritage Advice Note

Prepared by John Willans and Gemma Fowlie Reviewed by Richard Pollard Draft v2 Issued 16 April 2021

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If this document has been issued as a ‘draft’, it is issued solely for the purpose of client and/or team comment and must not be used for any other purpose without the written permission of Alan Baxter Ltd.

Alan Baxter Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales, number 06600598. Registered office: 75 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL.

Page 21 of 21 Guildhall Redevelopment Programme – Preliminary Heritage Advice Note

DRAFTED BY SHARED INTELLIGENCE 09-03-18

Made in Kingston: a strategy to hardwire growth into culture

“A borough where every person has their own experience of culture every day, and every business can contribute…

Where everyone can have access to excellent creative educational opportunities, and opportunities for creative and cultural work. Where the cultural and creative ambition is reflected in the tangible policies and actions of our public, private and not for profit organisations.”

Closing reflections from the November 2017 stakeholder workshop

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1. Introduction: the time for creativity is now

Kingston as a borough is in the midst of the biggest urban expansion since the aftermath of WW2, and it is essential the benefits of growth are enjoyed by all. Creative and cultural assets, both human and physical have aligned. The time has never been better to place culture and creativity at the heart of inclusive growth.

1.1 For the creative and cultural life of Kingston, growth and socio-economic change have created a moment of opportunity - to go from being a part of growth, to a driver of inclusive growth so that all residents from all communities can benefit. This has come about through a combination of factors; a growing population of creative firms and individuals, a thriving local cultural scene, and a step-change in confidence among local sector leaders.

1.2 Culture and creativity have always been part of this borough’s attractiveness. Now it is becoming a selling point at a time when local residential land values are third highest of all 19 outer London boroughs1. This is one way in which culture creates value, but there are many other ways too.

1.3 Kingston now has 6,500 residents who are ‘career creatives’ working in the creative industries. Employment data suggests many moving into the borough over the past five years are high skilled, mid-career professionals (and likely arts engagers), attracted by housing and amenities, high-performing schools, transport, and a safe, attractive environment. Developers now use the narrative of a borough rich in creativity to attract new residents. Alongside this the borough’s creative and cultural education institutions are using their reputations to attract significant new investment2.

1.4 But there are also risks of failing to capture fully the benefits of growth, or the benefits of infrastructure investment like Crossrail. These benefits are hard won and not automatic. Encouraging more of the 6,500 career creatives who live here, to work here too, will also take concerted effort. The same goes for attracting employers from higher value sectors.

1 Economic Evidence Base for London 2016, GLA (see Table 4, Ch.4.1 Industrial and residential land values per hectare and per square metre in London, 2015) 2 Kingston University’s School of Art is ranked in the top 5% globally for art and design in the QS World University Rankings in 2017; in 2017 Kingston College was ranked London’s top FE college and featured in the top 10 nationally; in 2017 six KU graduates received BAFTA nominations in short film and animation

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1.5 There are risks too for cohesion and inclusivity. Some residents worry about their families being left behind or having little connection to those moving in. Others fear that the attractiveness of the borough could, paradoxically, result in a less attractive place to live – or that the overwhelming need for more homes will squeeze out creative spaces3. Other causes of unease include the rising pressures on public services, and tectonic shifts in the labour market brought about by technology,.

1.6 Recognition is growing among the Council, University, College and other partners that while culture and creativity have always been integral, Kingston’s creatives can now help deliver a model of growth which is inclusive and benefits all sections of the population.

1.7 Decision-makers are also more alert to the proven role creativity plays in social mobility. For example the fact that childhood arts participation increases future employment prospects for the least well-off, and that high levels of self-employment and start-ups in the creative and cultural sector also provide important routes to mobility.

1.8 This strategy also represents hard-headed realism that unlocking creative potential in the context of urban growth is neither easy nor quick and often requires enabling policies backed by investment in people, more than one-off capital investment. As the urban Planner Charles Landry cautions in his book The Creative City, local authorities often struggle to release the potential of creativity because they struggle to focus on investment in people or political investment in changing regulations. Instead they have a tendency to focus on one-off ‘hard’ investments finding it “easier to think in terms of expenditure on highways, car parks and physical redevelopment schemes rather than on soft infrastructures such as training initiatives for skills enhancement, the encouragement of a lively night-time economy…”

3 See the London Plan, policy HC5 Supporting London's culture and creative industries

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2. Kingston context: homegrown, world-class

A rich cultural scene with a strong creative heritage 2.1 Kingston is an economic and social history of London in cross-section; the birthplace of innovations in aviation, public health, and entertainment which shaped the last century. The fabric of this polycentric borough provides its own record; the Saxon coronation stone outside the Guildhall symbolises centuries-long connections to monarchy, the arteries of Victorian London’s first clean water and railways sweep between red-brick terraces and villas in the north of the borough. In the south genteel swathes of semis record London’s last major wave of expansion.

2.2 Present-day Kingston draws inspiration from a rich past like globally-renowned dance company Balletboyz who have made their home in one of the last surviving factories of Britain’s aviation pioneers. Or the Visconti Studio, a unique collaboration between Kingston University and Tony Visconti. This technical celebration of British analogue recording has been built minutes from the site where Decca’s pressing-plant once brought pop to the masses, and the pub where Ziggy Stardust first landed from Mars. Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship are integral to the borough’s story of place and strategy for growth. Within the visual arts, Kingston is home to a vibrant scene of locally based artists and makers operating from independent and collective studio facilities. Kingston University's innovative Stanley Picker Gallery provides audiences with access to award-winning new commissions across the fields of art and design, whilst Dorich House Museum is an exemplary 1930s studio-home that now specialises in supporting women creative practitioners.

2.3 Rich cultural scenes now thrive by day and night across the borough4. The Rose Theatre produces and receives shows by award-winning directors, and in 2017 sold 150,000 tickets for over 500 performances. The Michael Frayn Theatre, based in a local school, hosts National Theatre Live, while CornerHouse in Tolworth hosts acts from radio, TV, and the Edinburgh Festival.

2.4 Kingston’s live music scene is buzzing with large and small gigs staged by independent promoters such as Banquet Records. The 1,000-capacity Hippodrome (an alternative for which is currently needed) regularly hosts world-class artists usually seen in much larger venues. In 2017 no less than twenty artists played Kingston at the time they were number-one in the charts, and it is not uncommon for 2,000 people to be in the town centre on a single night for live music. Further afield, smaller venues host thriving punk, rock, jazz, classical, and choral scenes.

4 As part of the background research to produce this strategy the borough’s creative and cultural assets and institutions were plotted to a 3D animated map which can be viewed here. The map highlights the presence of a rich cultural asset base which is spread across the borough.

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2.5 Just before this strategy went to print, the borough was awarded £90,000 by the Mayor for London to develop live music across the borough. This represents a unique opportunity to develop the borough’s live music offer, building upon Kingston’s rich music heritage and exploring how venues and outdoor spaces could be used to enrich Kingston’s music scene.

2.6 For many in the borough, culture and sport are one and the same. Family audiences come for a great day out at the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival or Kingston Regatta, but these are also serious events for amateur and professional competitors. This closeness of sports and culture is mirrored by the planned transformation of the borough’s leisure centres into neighbourhood hubs, broadening the traditional leisure model to provide creative spaces and community services.

2.7 The growing influence of culture and creativity is reflected in Creative Kingston. This emerging partnership, funded by Kingston First, the University and College, and the Council, aims to position the borough as one of the capital’s hotspots for creativity. A core aim will be to champion the richness of Kingston’s culture in all its forms, recognising that it is central to the reasons why companies and households are moving here.

A growing creative economy and population 2.8 In 2010 there were 1,175 creative employers locally and by 2016 there were 1,680. Of these, the fastest growing sub-sectors are those involved in original creativity including; computer programming, film and TV, design, and advertising. Some are start-ups (or ‘start-ins’) founded by Kingston University graduates. In fact the University’s 17,000 students are responsible for more start-ups than at any other UK University.

2.9 This wealth of talent represents a unique asset which could, if harnessed, support inclusive growth. However, most of the borough’s 6,500 career creatives work outside the borough; the data suggesting only 1,900 currently work in the borough. Reversing this daily outflow represents a major opportunity.

2.10 Among those whose work does take place within the borough, there is deep commitment to the community. Kingston creatives who base their business locally are motivated by a desire to contribute to the community they call home. The same goes for the organisers of local festivals. From the mischievous Surbiton Ski Sunday and Freshwater Sardine festival, to Ignition Dance, Open Studios, Thames Concerts, Carnival, Festival of the Voice and the International Youth Arts Festival, the primary motivation is supporting local talent and the local economy.

Culture and creativity drives economies and aides social mobility 2.11 Economic and social change puts stresses on us all, but culture and creativity mitigate those stresses and they also create opportunities for people to build good careers using their talents and passions.

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY

2.12 There is hard evidence (summarised in Chapter 1 of the evidence report which accompanies this strategy) that creativity drives innovation and growth and that globally the most successful city neighbourhoods for residents and businesses offer a culturally stimulating, attractive, safe, accessible, family-friendly environment. Detailed studies by Richard Florida, CityLab, NESTA, CEBR, Charles Landry and others provide compelling evidence of the direct impact of the creative and cultural sector on urban and metro economies in the UK and US.

2.13 There is also good evidence that the creative and cultural sector provides above average wages and productivity and that jobs in the sector are less likely to be automated. Even though creative sector wages are often perceived as low, in 2015 gross annual pay for the sector in London was £39,000 compared to an all-London average of £33,1005. There is also good evidence about the role of self-employment and entrepreneurship in supporting mobility, along with long-term cohort studies linking childhood arts participation to young people’s future employment prospects. These examples are described in more depth in the evidence report.

3. Made in Kingston: a strategy to hardwire growth into culture

3.1 Kingston’s priority for economic growth is to ensure the benefits of growth are enjoyed across the socio-economic spectrum, and by all residents from all communities. This is a challenge faced by every London borough and many others across the country. Here in Kingston we know our creative people can be mobilised to become drivers of inclusive growth, supporting livelihoods, families and quality of life. We also know this will require investment and an enabling regulatory framework.

3.2 A strategy of Made in Kingston means using what we have locally, to create more value locally. It is a strategy of using our human assets, land and physical assets, intellectual assets, our heritage and reputation, our present-day economy, and our future potential. It is a strategy of being as creative and ingenious in our regulation and administration, as we are in our culture and art.

5 ONS annual survey 2015

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY

Hardwiring growth into culture through a ‘per cent for culture’ 3.3 To implement a strategy requires leadership and resources to achieve returns. Resources put towards culture provide a good return for both the public and private sector. Not only does it make places more desirable, provide better paid jobs, and routes to social mobility, but for every £1 invested in culture the sector contributes £5 back in taxes6.

3.4 In the past many local authorities have invested significant sums in culture – some still do – but this is becoming harder in the face of budgetary pressures. Instead this strategy proposes that financial resources come not from the public purse, but from the value of the significant amount of redevelopment planned over the coming years through a “per cent for culture” mechanism.

3.5 A per cent for culture, coupled with an enabling policy and regulatory framework to support culture, are the heart of the Made in Kingston strategy. These are the mechanisms which hardwire economic growth back into culture, so that our creative people can in turn deliver a greater contribution locally.

3.6 We explain more about how a ‘per cent for culture’ would be developed in Chapter 7 of the evidence report which underpins this strategy - including comparisons with similar approaches elsewhere in London, the UK, and internationally. The investment from this mechanism will pay back to the local economy including to developers via the boost culture provides to the value and saleability of commercial and residential properties.

Five areas of action 3.7 The investment from a per cent for culture will provide a sustainable flow of resources to support the cultural eco-system year on year and longer-term. This must be coupled with a purposeful policy framework through the Local Plan, Licensing and other regulatory levers. The action plan for developing the strategy is grouped under the five headings which follow. Each of these five areas of action have been developed from the evidence gathered with stakeholders and are explained in detail in the evidence report. The areas of action represent what Kingston’s creative and cultural stakeholders have said they want to achieve through their combined efforts, sharing the tasks between them. The five areas are:

1. Entice career creatives living in the borough to bring their working life into the borough 3.8 Our strategy is to encourage more of the 6,500 resident career creatives who out-commute to conduct more of their working life in the borough. Not only will this strengthen the creative and cultural life of Kingston it will also benefit the local economy through supply chains and consumer spending. This is a

6 Analysis by CEBR for Arts Council England (2017) estimates that for every £1 of public funding of the arts and culture, £5 of tax is contributed by the arts and culture industry.

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY

major long-term task but it will begin with gaining greater understanding of what this group needs along with marketing of the borough as a business location for creatives aimed at borough and central London audiences.

3.9 The strategy is also to retain university graduate entrepreneurs who set up their businesses in the borough - through brokerage and mentoring schemes to link them to other local creatives.

3.10 Kingston has one of the largest stocks of office space of all outer boroughs. Enabling more residents to find jobs in the borough – or move their businesses here – requires a supply of flexible workspaces and support or incentives to convert larger offices into smaller spaces until the market is proven. To achieve this, approaches to catalytic investment such as in meanwhile spaces, affordable workspaces, and creative sector hubs, will need to be formalised in the Local Plan.

2. Mobilise local skills to provide opportunities and enable creative employers to stay and grow 3.11 Kingston has an exceptional offer when it comes to cultural and creative education and produces incredible creative talent. Our strategy is to develop new skills pathways so that individuals can build creative and cultural careers here in Kingston - harnessing support from established career creatives too. This means scoping the pathways existing employers can provide, and the skills they require. This should also be linked to sub-regional work taking place across South London.

3.12 Opportunities will be found to enable all residents and employers to make more use of our world-class College and University facilities to support skills development. This is already underway as part of the renewal programme at Kingston University’s School of Art. Alongside this, stronger links will be built between school careers advice and creative employers.

3. Open up creative places and spaces, building on existing assets and reputations 3.13 The strategy is to create system flexibility through the regulatory planning framework and the forthcoming revision of the Local Plan so that inspiring, inclusive and accessible spaces can be integrated into development when and where they are needed. This is essential to enable creativity to grow in value here. One stakeholder put it like this: “When we turned down Adele it wasn’t because we needed a grant. We just needed space.”

3.14 The need for space to grow Kingston town centre’s valuable live music scene is a pressing issue. Partners will work together to identify potential spaces and venues and the Council will convene a working group from Licensing, Planning, Culture and Regeneration to create an enabling regulatory framework that connects with the work of the GLA’s Night-Time Commission, Culture at Risk team and best practice including the Agent of Change principle.

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY

3.15 The Mayor of London’s new Special Impact Award for Kingston, for live music, will enable the borough to support existing and future music venues and create test-beds for emerging talent. Kingston’s plan for using the Award will ensure music venues throughout the borough are recognised for the value they bring, their impact on employment and the night-time economy, their entrepreneurial approach, and their support of new talent.

3.16 Creative and cultural stakeholders will work with developers to set cost neutral briefs for new open public spaces - to deliver adaptable, accessible and attractive outdoor spaces. For example the difference in cost-terms between fixed versus removable structures, or having power hook-ups and other utilities is often marginal if planned early but over time this will make a strategic difference.

3.17 Creative partners will also explore how to unlock the potential of existing spaces and infrastructure through revenue projects (rather than capital) which harness ideas, engage communities, and leverage commercial investment. One example of this is funding just obtained to develop a ‘placemaking’ plan for Kingston town centre. This will be part of wider support for artists and creatives to test new concepts and animate neighbourhoods through meanwhile uses as is being trialled with an arts café in New Malden.

4. Strengthen creative networks 3.18 The research behind this strategy highlighted the wealth of creative partnerships and networks which already exist, but it also highlights how much more potential could be unlocked if existing networks are brought together.

3.19 This will begin with an annual event led by Creative Kingston where all creative and cultural organisations and individuals from the borough are able to showcase what they do, work on future collaborations and build the profile of creativity in the borough. Alongside this will be a programme through Creative Kingston to connect the ‘archipelago’ of existing networks and micro-networks including international, migrant, disabled and BAME communities.

3.20 There is also potential to create more formal education partnerships bringing academic and creative practitioners together along the lines of the Culture Capital Exchange7 based at Somerset House.

3.21 Kingston’s Business partners will support work to increase the online visibility and discoverability of the borough’s full cultural and creative offer (including event and visitor offer). Developing this visibility is key to building audiences and profile to match other cultural hotspots and destinations like Brighton and Hull.

7 The Culture Capital Exchange is an HE-led network based at Somerset House which enables artists, creatives and researchers to develop mutually beneficial relationships and form new collaborations by providing support for network development and seed funding.

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5. International impact and networks 3.22 Kingston has a great foundation of international relationships by virtue of its resident population, international events, and formal twinning. More impact can be achieved by joining up for example, ensuring all those organising activities with an international dimension are aware of the Council’s international team and the support they can provide.

3.23 Festivals, organisations and projects that highlight the borough’s global connections such as Global Arts, Carnival, Korean Autumn Moon Festival and the International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF), will be used proactively to strengthen international relationships in particular with the home communities of those visitors.

3.24 Work will also be undertaken to improve the visitor experience within the borough including via ‘legibility’, walking routes, networks and other measures to encourage international visitors to explore locally and build new relationships while they are here.

Actions to develop the ‘per cent for culture’ mechanism 3.25 Alongside these actions the Council will lead the work to scope and develop the ‘per cent for culture’ mechanism. This will begin with detailed scoping of the Wandsworth model and other examples. The Council will also explore how a ‘per cent for culture’ would need to be supported by a wider enabling framework including the Local Plan, as well as other options for hardwiring growth into culture through BIDs or mechanisms such as a Cultural Loan Fund.

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4. Measuring progress

4.1 This is a strategy for hardwiring growth into culture, in order that the creative and cultural sector in Kingston can become a driver of inclusive growth. With this as the intended outcome we propose the following measures of success:

● Measure 1 – Is culture and creative activity playing a bigger role in the creation of good jobs and quality of life? ● Proposed metrics:

○ Has the number of young people attaining creative qualifications of jobs increased?

○ Has resident satisfaction with life in the borough increased?

● Measure 2 – Is a proportion of the value of development in the borough being captured in order to invest in culture and the creative industries? ● Proposed metrics:

○ Has 1% of the value of development been invested in developing the cultural and creative sector?

● Measure 3 – Is more of the economic and social value of borough residents’ own creative skills and activities being harnessed within the borough? ● Proposed metrics:

○ Has the gap closed between the number of creative jobs in the borough and the number of creatively skilled residents?

○ Are more of the borough’s career creative working in the borough?

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Action Plan

Task Leads Entice career creatives living in the borough to bring their working life into the borough ● Explore support needs of mid-career creative professionals who may be looking to create start-ups or become freelancers CK

● Develop mentoring and brokerage support for Kingston University graduates linking to local career creatives KU

● Develop marketing aimed at borough residents who commute to London, pitching borough as base for creative businesses KF

● Ensure that workspace and infrastructure needs of creatives (such as creative sector business hubs) are reflected in the planning framework RBK including the Local Plan

Mobilise local skills to provide opportunities and enable creative employers to stay and grow ● Scope and develop creative skills pathways building on existing work (including by College, KU, Creative Colony, Anstee Bridge) RBK, KU, KC

● Conduct research to map the skills pathways creative employers can provide and the technical and soft skills they require RBK

● Scope potential for sub-regional collaboration on creative skills across South London KC

● Find new ways to make College and University spaces and facilities available to support skills development KC, KU

● Facilitate stronger links between careers advice in Kingston schools with Creative Kingston and creative employers RBK

Open up creative places and space, building on existing assets and reputations ● Engage with Local Plan revision to develop levers for increasing the supply creative and cultural spaces for production and consumption RBK

● Ensure the Kingston Leisure Masterplan supports cultural infrastructure development and access RBK

● Convene a multi-disciplinary working group to support the positive management of the day and night-time economy RBK

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● Use the London Mayor’s Award to support live music production and consumption in Kingston town and across the borough CK

● Set cost-neutral briefs for developers for new open spaces – to deliver adaptable and accessible open public spaces for culture KU

● Explore how to unlock the potential of existing outdoor spaces and infrastructure (e.g. through ‘placemaking’ study in Kingston town centre) RBK

● Co-ordinate support for meanwhile spaces with licensing to test new concepts and animate neighbourhoods (e.g. arts café in New Malden) RBK

● Ensure Cultural Infrastructure mapping is inclusive and meets the needs of users RBK

Strengthen creative networks: ● Create an annual event where organisations and individuals from the borough can showcase the creative and cultural offer CK

● Support joining-up of micro networks including those which connect international, migrant, and BAME communities ensuring vulnerable, CK disabled and harder to reach groups are given a voice

● Undertake an Equality Impact Assessment during the implementation process of the Action Plan to monitor progress, evaluate outcomes RBK and amend delivery, if required

● Create a more formal partnership involving fulltime education, HE, FE and LLL partners (drawing on Culture Capital Exchange model8) KC, KU ● Create a joined up online arts and culture visitor offer to match the likes of Brighton and Hull KF

International impact and networks: ● All partners to involve the Council’s International Team at the early stage of activity with an international dimension All partners

● Use IYAF as a test-bed for strengthening international relationships with the home communities of visitors to festivals (cultural leaders, CY, communities, and investors) through a partnership between Creative Youth and the Korean British Cultural Exchange KBCEx

8 The Culture Capital Exchange is an HE-led network based at Somerset House which enables artists, creatives and researchers to develop mutually beneficial relationships and form new collaborations by providing support for network development and seed funding.

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● Ensure Kingston’s ‘legibility’ strategy supports opportunities to encourage international visitors to explore locally KF

Actions to develop a ‘per cent for culture’ mechanism: ● Detailed scoping towards a viable “Per Cent for Culture” mechanism informed by Wandsworth model and tested with commercial partners RBK

● Undertake scoping of a wider framework for securing resources through mechanisms including the Local Plan, S106, CIL, and licensing RBK

● Explore other options for hardwiring growth into culture at a neighbourhood specific and borough-wide level (e.g. property BIDs and CLF) RBK

● Develop a workable model for Cultural Enterprise Zones to encourage more creative economy SMEs to put down roots in the borough (in RBK, KU, KC particular those involving Kingston residents and graduates from the University)

Measuring impact ● Develop impact measures for reporting progress against this strategy and action plan RBK and CK

● Develop reporting cycle and channels for discussing progress and overcoming obstacles RBK and CK

CK=Creative Kingston KF=Kingston First CY=Creative Youth KU=Kingston University KBCEx=Korean British Cultural Exchange RBK=Kingston Council KC=Kingston College

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY

Made in Kingston: evidence report

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY

1. Evidence: culture as a driver of growth

1.1 Made in Kingston is supported by evidence and experience that creativity drives innovation and growth, and that globally the most successful city neighbourhoods for residents and the economy are those which offer a culturally stimulating, attractive and safe family-friendly environments.

1.2 Most recently this has been shown by economists at the University of Illinois in a widely cited study comparing data from 2,000 neighbourhoods on the income people are willing to pay for where they live, with quality of life scores for those places9. They found that other things being equal, people pay premium to live in neighbourhoods with vibrant entertainment, and good schools.

1.3 It builds on the work of Richard Florida who for the past two decades has developed the case that the creative and cultural sector makes a unique contribution to urban economies. In 2002 in The Rise of the Creative Class10 he argued that career creatives attract talent, spur innovation and grow the economy. More recently11 Florida and his CityLab team have analysed new data from 118 American metro areas to show that the presence of performing arts in particular, is linked to higher rates of growth across knowledge-class (and therefore high value-add) employment. Florida’s work also shows that the vibrancy and desirability of metro areas as places to live, rests on the presence of career creatives, and that communities must therefore attract creatives, and develop cultural assets, in order to thrive. UK writers have also shown that creative industries drive both wage and employment growth in other sectors12.

1.4 In the UK the growth and value of the creative and cultural sector is also well recognised both for its absolute size and catalytic role in the 21st Century economy. In 2016 DCMS sectors13 contributed £249bn to the UK economy or 14.2% of GVA – with creative industries (5.3%) making up the second largest

9 Albouy, David (2015) Driving to opportunity: Local rents, wages, commuting, and sub-metropolitan quality of life. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol 89, pp74-92 (as quoted by Richard Florida in CityLab online article) 10 The Rise of the Creative Class and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life; by Richard Florida; Basic Books, New York, N.Y.; 2002. 11 Online article How the Arts Add to Urban Economies; by Richard Florida; published on www.citylab.com; 2015 12 Lee, Neil (2014) The creative industries and urban economic growth in the UK. Environment and Planning A, 46 (2). pp. 455-470. ISSN 0308-518X 13https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662958/DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_2016_GVA.pdf

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sector. Research by NESTA14 highlights that the UK’s economic future depends on its creative industries, which are innovative, fast growing, and provide work less likely to be automated15.

1.5 Another reason the creative and cultural sector is important is because it is associated with higher than average wages and productivity. In a recent study for Arts Council England16, economists at CEBR identified the key strengths of the sector as;

● Significantly higher than average labour productivity per employee

● Above average levels of pay (in London the 2015 gross annual pay for the sector was £39,000 compared to an all-London average of £33,10017)

● 5:1 return on public investment (i.e. for every £1 of public funding, the sector contributes £5 of tax)

● Overwhelmingly comprised of SMEs

1.6 Then in terms of social mobility - we know from long-term cohort studies conducted both in the US and UK that children and young people from low- income families who take part in arts activities while at school are three times more likely to go on to get a degree and that ‘arts-engaged low-income students tend to perform more like average higher-income students’.18 There are also a number of studies which show that self-employment and entrepreneurship can support social mobility, including for people from BAME backgrounds19.

1.7 We also know that’s culture and creativity contribute to cohesion and wellbeing, which in turn means communities can play a full part in the local economy. Inspiring festivals enable us to meet those with whom we share our streets20. Stories, performances, and films provide chances to talk about issues which

14 https://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/geography-uks-creative-and-high-tech-economies 15 https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/creativity-versus-robots 16 CEBR for Arts Council England (2017) Contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/economic-contribution 17 ONS annual survey 2015 18 The Case for Cultural Learning: Key Research Findings, Cultural Learning Alliance 2017 19 Self-employment and economic mobility, The Urban Institute 2008 20 Community Cohesion: Seven Steps, Home Office 2005

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concern us. Live music lifts our mood and gives pleasure21. Singing and reading can support well-being22. Annual fetes and parades provide rhythm to communities even in times of change.

1.8 The creative sector has particular importance for Greater London23 as a global city where creative employment is growing especially fast (on average over three times faster than the workforce as whole) and as we explain in more detail elsewhere, where creative industries account for a particularly high workforce share in Outer London, including Kingston.

1.9 But the evidence also highlights challenges to local authorities as the UK-based urban Planner Charles Landry described in The Creative City. Local authorities, he argued, struggle to release the potential of the creative and cultural sector because they struggle to focus on investment in people or political investment in changing regulations. Instead they focus on one-off ‘hard’ investments in bricks and concrete because they “find it easier to think in terms of expenditure on highways, car parks and physical redevelopment schemes rather than on soft infrastructures such as training initiatives for skills enhancement, the encouragement of a lively night-time economy…” 2. Evidence: Kingston’s career creatives

2.1 Our research into the borough’s career creatives – those who live here, and those who work here – was an extension of the local economy analysis which underpins Kingston’s economic growth strategy. Here we set out the most notable features based on analysis of household data (what occupations members of the public say they work in, and where they give as their place of work), and business data (the numbers of employees that employers report they have, and where their business is based). There is a more detailed note on where this data comes from and how to interpret it, at the end of this section.

Kingston is home to a population of 6,500 (and growing) career creatives 2.2 Excluding self-employed, household data from the Annual Population Survey (APS) indicates that in 2010 the borough had 2,600 residents who said they were employed in DCMS ‘creative sector’ occupations but by 2015 this has risen 54% to 3,900 in (4.5% of all employed borough residents). The APS survey

21 What works for wellbeing? A systematic review of wellbeing outcomes for music and singing in adults, LSE 2017 22 What Literature Can Do: An investigation into the effectiveness of Shared Reading as a whole population health intervention (based on four S. London boroughs), University of Liverpool 2016 23 GVA of the creative industries in London for 2015 was estimated at £42bn or 11.1% of total GVA, GLA Economics (2017) London’s creative industries – 2017 update

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also indicates these career creatives are far more likely to give their place of work as somewhere outside than somewhere inside the borough – in other words, Kingston’s career creatives mainly commute out of the borough to work.

2.3 The 2010-2015 growth in career creatives living in the borough is likely to be the result of several factors combined; young people going into creative occupations as their first job, existing residents changing career, people already in creative occupations moving into the borough to live.

2.4 Compared to other south London boroughs Kingston’s 3,900 or 4.5% figure stands up well against other SLP boroughs, exceeded only by LB Richmond.

Figure 1

Source: ONS APS

2.5 In addition to Kingston’s 3,900 creatively employed residents we estimate another 2,620 residents work in DCMS creative occupations but are self- employed. We assume their workplace or job could be inside or outside the Borough.

2.6 A ‘total’ number of Kingston residents who are career creatives is hard to describe definitively but could be understood as 6,520 (i.e. 3,900 + 2,620).

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Areas of creative self-employment overlap with occupations where local creative firms are hiring 2.7 Figure 2 below shows the specific occupation categories (i.e. the most detail level of SOC occupational codes) found in the population survey sample24 for Kingston’s 2,620 self-employed career creatives.

2.8 This indicates that self-employed creatives living in the borough, are often in sub-sectors more concerned with original creation and higher value-added work (designers, artists, architects, coders). Not only that but several of these occupations (highlighted in green) match the industry sub-sectors where borough-based firms also say they have taken on more employees (as shown later on in Figure 4) – i.e. designers, artists, architects – plus photography and audio-visual professionals, and software developers. This suggests self-employment among borough residents has grown in the same occupations where locally-based creative firms are also hiring. One final observation is that these occupations also overlap with education and training areas which are considered particular strengths by the borough’s Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) institutions notably Kingston College’s School of Art and Design, and Kingston School of Art at the University.

Figure 2

Creative Occupational Category of self-employed residents with 4 digit SOC codes 3413 'Actors, entertainers and presenters' 3411 'Artists' 3412 'Authors, writers and translators' 3417 'Photographers, AV and broadcasting equipment operators' 2136 'Programmers and software development professionals' 2139 'IT and telecommunications professionals' 2142 'Environment professionals' 3543 'Marketing associate professionals' 3421 'Graphic designers' 2431 'Architects' 2473 'Advertising accounts mngrs and creative directors'

24 This data is from a sampled survey not a census, which means there may be residents with other creative roles living in the borough, but not picked up in the sample.

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The number of career creatives working in the borough is rising – part timers in particular 2.9 Now we turn from the self-reported occupational categories of people who live in Kingston, to the figures for how many people give their main place of work as an address in the borough of Kingston – regardless of their home address. Now we see there are 1,900 individuals, employed in DCMS sectors, who say they work within the borough25 (n.b. some are undoubtedly borough residents but this number could also include those commute from elsewhere). The same data also shows that since 2009/10 the number of individuals in creative occupations whose state their main place of work as the borough of Kingston has risen from 1,500 to 1,900, although down from a peak of 3,000 in 2012/13. Figure 3 shows this pattern along with the split between full and part time which has also seen volatility. This does not include self-employment.

Figure 3

Source: ONS APS

There is a trend towards creative jobs concerned with original creation 2.10 We can find out more about the kinds of jobs being done by career creatives whose place of work is within the borough – using the national Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). BRES (shown in Figure 4) comes not from asking members of the public but from asking a sample of businesses. We have taken 2010 and 2015 data to show us overall scale, plus direction of travel. The first thing we see is a much higher figure for creative sector

25 N.B. DCMS occupations also cover sports and fitness. Based on the low numbers of employment in this sector from BRES data and small proportion registered under these occupations in London – this is unlikely to skew our estimates for the creative sector.

CREATIVE AND CULTURAL STRATEGY employment – 3,764 jobs in total (rather than 1,900). The main reason for this is BRES data includes all employees at businesses associated with the creative sector, including employees not in creative occupations themselves, e.g. accountants working for design firms, or receptionists working for architecture practices.

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Figure 4

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(Source: ONS BRES)

2.11 We have ranked Figure 4 by net change in levels of employment. From this it appears that the areas of work where jobs have increased most are in occupations which tend more towards original creation and production (designers, artists, architects, coders) compared to management, maintenance, publishing or distribution of creative work. In fact Figure 4 could be read as indicating a tipping-point in which jobs in Kingston concerned with original creation are on the rise, while jobs in the borough concerned with ‘handling’ creative content are on the wane. Such a tipping-point would also mean that the kinds of local creative jobs being created are more closely aligned to the types of jobs being sought by the career creatives who live in the borough (many of whom currently commute out daily) .

2.12 Perhaps the starkest example of this is the contrast between “computer programming” and “computer consultancy”. Even though firms involved with “computer programming” (i.e. creation of new applications) employ fewer people in Kingston overall, these firms are creating the most jobs whereas firms in “computer consultancy” (i.e. the maintenance of existing systems) – although still a major source of jobs overall – are shedding jobs rapidly. Similarly, Kingston’s “other software publishing” firms have shed the second highest number of jobs – which in percentage terms is a massive reduction.

The mix of creative firms based in the borough is also changing – with more SMEs and start-ups 2.13 Having looked at individual workers and jobs we can now turn to the number of creative sector employers and firms there are in the borough. Figure 5 shows the number of creative employers in the borough of Kingston in 2010 and 2015 – and this again shows Kingston to be in a period of rapid change with the number of employers having increased. In 2010 there were 1,175 creative employers locally and in 2016 there were 1,680. These include two National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) – the BalletBoyz dance company based in an old aviation factory in Kingston town centre, and the renowned Stanley Picker Gallery at Knights Park.

2.14 What is interesting is that the pattern of employment growth and job losses are not matched by changes in the number of firms. The most notable example is computer consultancy where jobs have fallen from 1,867 jobs to 1,421, yet the number of firms has risen from 503 to 683. This implies a rapid reduction in average firm size coupled with a large number of new starts, or relocations into the borough – presumably also by small firms.

2.15 At the other end of the scale we see a small drop in the number of firms involved in the “artistic creation” sub-sector despite the fact that overall employment by these firms has tripled. This would indicate that artistic creation firms now present are becoming larger, perhaps as sole traders or freelancers band together into SMEs.

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Figure 5

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Source: ONS UK Business Counts 28

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Strategic implications – allowing the shift towards smaller more creative firms to gather pace 2.16 The employment and business data indicates a tipping point has been reached in the borough where the ‘rising’ sub-sectors are now those more concerned with original creation, higher value-add, and which are also more closely aligned with the skills and aspirations of the career creatives who live in the borough. Those ‘rising’ firms are displacing ‘fading’ sub-sectors – typified by the decline in jobs and shrinking firm size within the borough’s computer consulting sector, contrasting with the increase in jobs in computer programming.

2.17 To support the continued formation and growth of these (often small) creative employers require access to high-level creative skills (to hire as employees or subcontractors), and small-unit physical space on flexible terms. There is also a significant opportunity in that the skills now needed are those which Kingston’s University and College are particularly strong in; architecture, computer programming, art and design, performing arts, and broadcasting – making FE and HE partners even more vital to local growth.

2.18 The large proportion of self-employment in the cultural sector also means that enterprise and entrepreneurship skills are needed in order for local creatives to achieve their potential. Not only that but the very nature of the sector means there is potential for creative models of enterprise and innovation cultures to drive growth where innovation and culture are intrinsically linked.

2.19 Many of Kingston’s working adults, including those in the creative sector, are in their 30s and 40s and mid-career (some of the starkest evidence for this is the continuing rapid growth in the number of Kingston families with under-5s and school-age children). This means that skills needs should not be thought of as simply supporting under those entering the labour market for the first time. In terms of economic growth, there is significant potential in mid and late-career skills support for experienced and mature workers especially those looking to start their own business or go freelance. Lack of skills support for freelancers (particularly common in the creative sectors) has been shown as a gap and a drag on wages; one study identified that of creative organisations who actively invest in skills, 45% do not extend this to freelancers26. The same study found creative sector freelancers earn 10% less than sector employees.

2.20 Enabling more of the borough’s career creatives to work locally (and closer to home) has particular value because of the proximity to central London. Skills, especially those matured through experience in central London’s world-class industries, are a huge creative resource for Kingston that supports innovation. This could be achieved through organised, intentional networks and brokerage with a deliberate remit around innovation, skills and growth – alongside an active planning framework and provisions in the Local Plan.

26 https://creativeskillset.org/assets/0000/6034/Sector_Skills_Assessment_Summary_for_the_Creative_Industries_in_Wales_2011.pdf …of those employers who do provide learning or development, 45% do not extend provision to freelancers.

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2.21 If Kingston’s creative economy is tipping towards a larger number of smaller businesses and an increase in self-employment and single person enterprise, then skills needs and physical space needs (start-up or move-on) will be sought together. This could be provided for example through creative sector business hubs – located across the borough by private players or public ones (e.g. Creative Kingston) – providing space, access to skills, skills support, and new hires, and knowledge and support from peers. This could be combined with brokerage activity (involving businesses, the College and University) providing increased support for creative entrepreneurs, and sector-led27 creative-freelancer training – to stimulate network and cluster effects and in turn competitiveness.

Actions to entice career creatives living in the borough to bring their working life into the borough: 2.22 The biggest opportunity here is to entice more of the borough’s 6,500 career creatives (at all stages of their careers) to keep their working life, or bring their working life into the borough.

● Explore support needs of mid-career creative professionals who may be looking to create start-ups or become freelancers

● Develop mentoring and brokerage support for Kingston University graduates linking to local career creatives

● Develop marketing aimed at borough residents who commute to London, pitching borough as base for creative businesses

● Ensure that workspace and infrastructure needs of creatives (such as creative sector business hubs) are reflected in the planning framework including the Local Plan

27 Note that this is specifically not ‘employer’ led as it is a freelancer initiative – an appropriate local sector representative body would be needed to identify and co- ordinate around opportunities.

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Note on employment data 2.23 This data is derived from the Annual Population Survey (APS), the national Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), and the UK Business Counts dataset.

2.24 The APS household survey uses the standard occupational classification (SOC) to classify occupations. Culture, media, and sport are included in the major group associate professional and technical occupations. This is further broken down into minor SOC codes: Artistic, literary and media occupations; design occupations; and sports and fitness occupations. This minor group is further broken down into specific ‘4- digit’ SOC categories; artists, authors, writers and translators; actors, entertainers and presenters; dancers and choreographers; musicians; arts officers, producers and directors; photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators. APS employment data at this level is based on inferred totals from very small samples, which creates volatility and also means wide margins for error.

2.25 The BRES samples approximately 100,000 businesses. No other Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey offers the same level of detail around local employment and industrial data.

2.26 It is important to note that when interpreting the number of employee jobs, they have been allocated to the area in which the businesses completing the survey question say that the employee works i.e. the geographical estimate is based on workplace rather than residential status. Therefore, it is impossible to say that because an employee works in that area that they also live there.

2.27 The data used from the UK Business Counts dataset is local units, which refer to an individual site (such as a shop or factory) associated with an enterprise. They are the sites that belong to a business – these businesses must have registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay as You Earn (PAYE).

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3. Evidence: creative skills in Kingston

3.1 To understand the wider Kingston skills picture we convened a discussion with stakeholders from the University, College, community organisations and creative industries. We looked in more depth at the wider skills situation beyond career creatives. We discussed in detail the challenge of connecting start- ups (especially those from the University) with local workers – especially younger borough residents and non-graduates – and how this related to the need for clearer skills pathways.

High level skills in the working population 3.2 Looking at the overall skills base we see Kingston is home to a highly qualified residential population, with over half of residents qualified to degree level or above – higher than the London average and well above the national average.

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3.3 Combined with what we know about Kingston’s average house price, which was £465,254 in 201628 it is reasonable to assume that a good proportion of those moving into the borough are in higher paid (and most likely higher skilled) occupations.

3.4 Our stakeholder discussions and the ever-growing list of individuals who offered to contribute to producing this strategy also highlighted the wealth of talent which exists locally. Among the borough’s 6,500 career creatives are many people at the very top of their field across the creative and cultural sector including award-winning architects, performers, filmmakers, writers, designers, musicians, music producers, and fine artists. 3.5 However, alongside the highly skilled, 19% of the borough’s working population are qualified only to NVQ3 level, and one fifth (20%) hold NVQ2, NVQ1 or no qualifications at all.

3.6 Just as with the creative sector, a high proportion of all the borough’s working residents commute daily to areas outside of the borough – this is also reflected in passenger flow data from the rail network. The Kingston Growth strategy reports that in 2011, 45,42429 Kingston residents commuted out of the borough for work. Unsurprisingly, ONS data also shows that average wages earned by borough residents are higher than average wages offered by borough employers30. We also know that jobs in the borough tend to be in administration, clerical, retail, health and education sectors31.

3.7 So, while there are many people who do live and work in the borough, a significant cohort of highly qualified residents with high salary expectations, commute daily to jobs in central London (and among them are many of the borough’s career creatives). As they commute out, another group of workers commute in from areas where housing is cheaper, to work for local employers in jobs which are lower paid and lower skilled.

3.8 This mass daily outward migration of 45,000 residents to (generally better paid) jobs elsewhere is a huge lost opportunity in local consumer spending in the daytime and nigh-time economy, in vibrancy and in cohesion. Given that Kingston also has one of the largest stocks of office space of all outer boroughs, enabling more residents to find jobs in the borough – or move their businesses here – does not mean displacing existing jobs. It does however require a supply of workspace in attractive sizes and formats for these types of businesses.

University and entrepreneurship 3.9 Kingston University is a sector leader ranked among the best domestically and internationally for art, design, fashion, journalism, sport and science. Kingston University’s School of Art is ranked in the top 5% globally for art and design in the QS World University Rankings. Kingston University also attracts

28 ONS House Price Index (2016) 29 ONS Census (2011) 30 ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2015) 31 Kingston Economic Growth and Development Strategy – draft signed off, formal publication 2018

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a large proportion of international students, and runs its own overseas and international exchange programmes. Kingston University ranks 136th out of 1,102 universities from 77 countries in the 2017 Times Higher Education ‘International Outlook’ category.

3.10 One of the most notable strengths of the University in terms of economic growth is that it produces an unusually large number of business start-ups and start-ins, topping the table for the number of graduate business start-ups for 2015/2016 and for several year previously32. But just like the borough’s residents, many of the businesses founded by its University students take their businesses outside of the borough rather than putting down roots here.

Skills barriers affecting firm growth and employment chances 3.11 One possible reason graduate start-ups in particular move out of the borough is because they cannot find skilled workers – yet we know there are many experienced professionals with higher skills living here. This suggests that graduate start-ups are failing to connect with local talent, and/or that the jobs they are offering are early-career with entry level salaries.

3.12 Another obstacle may be the lack of career paths, especially for local non-graduates, into creative career paths as alternatives to administration, clerical, retail and healthcare routes. There is also a more general shortage of creative sector training across south and west London. What is needed are new creative skills pathways backed by co-ordination and brokerage between cultural employers and learning institutions, building on the work already being done by Creative Colony (on filmmaking), Anstee Bridge (on music and audio), and by the London-wide sector support agency A.N.D. (on pre-employment qualifications for young people).

Actions to mobilise local skills, provide opportunities and enable creative employers to stay and grow ● Scope and develop creative skills pathways building on existing work (including by College, KU, Creative Colony, Anstee Bridge)

● Conduct research to map the skills pathways creative employers can provide and the technical and soft skills they require

● Scope potential for sub-regional collaboration on creative skills across South London

● Find new ways to make College and University spaces and facilities available to support skills development

● Facilitate stronger links between careers advice in Kingston schools with Creative Kingston and creative employers

32 http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/1666/08-jun-2016-kingston-university-tops-the-table-for-producing-most-graduate-business-startups-in-annual-higher- education/

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4. Evidence: creative places and spaces

4.1 We know space-needs for artistic and creative production and consumption are emerging and changing all the time. We also know, as the draft London Plan highlights, that the capital “is losing essential spaces and venues for cultural production and consumption33”.

4.2 Kingston’s creative and cultural stakeholders want a system which treasures and makes better use of the places and spaces the borough already has, and they want flexible creative spaces to be planned in as commercial solutions within new developments and regeneration schemes. We heard no-one arguing for iconic public capital investments – no multi-million pound publicly-funded gallery or museum. It can be tempting for cultural strategies to focus on set- piece capital investments and infrastructure. They are glamorous and can seem like a panacea but often struggle with sustainable revenue. What is more important is a sustainable flow of resources to support the cultural ecosystem long-term; along with an enabling framework of planning, licensing and other regulatory policies.

4.3 Stakeholders are also clear that only certain types of creative activity require entirely bespoke space. Many need conventional office space – although they may be attracted to clusters of similar workers and firms, and locations where there are options to grow. There are of course exceptions, notably; the need for a new large live music venue to take the place of the Hippodrome (raised at October Full Council, November State of the Borough, and in other fora).

4.4 Those in ‘dirty fingernails’ fields, or performing arts, need spaces which are flexible in terms of layout, and regulatory restrictions, or have specialised facilities. Accessibility is particularly important for hosting audiences, but for creating inclusive workspaces too. Often what creatives find most attractive are areas where there is flexibility in the system to enable spaces to be made available when and where they are needed.

4.5 The idea of flexibility is already being implemented by the Council’s leisure services who are working towards transforming the borough’s ageing stock of leisure facilities into neighbourhood hubs. These will enable sites to continue providing the traditional leisure offer but also build-in potential to host other community services such as GPs, or pharmacies, as well as providing creative spaces for community uses which will evolve as communities change and grow.

33 See the London Plan, policy HC5 Supporting London's culture and creative industries

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Creative places and spaces walkabout 4.6 To understand issues around the availability of creative spaces we took one neighbourhood – New Malden – as a test-bed and combined our discussion with stakeholders with a walkabout where we spoke to local creatives and venue owners. We wanted to understand the fine grain of how spaces were used, how people found out about spaces and connected with one another, and what lessons could be applied across the borough. This was an eye-opening exploration for everyone involved, and we believe there is significant value in conducting similar explorations in Tolworth, Surbiton, Kingston town centre, Hook and Chessington.

4.7 In our initial discussions about the cultural strategy there was a strong sense from stakeholders of general, borough-wide, lack of space for cultural and creative production and consumption. However, our more detailed discussions, supported by the New Malden exploration, reveal a more nuanced picture. While there are creatives who need workspace, there are also spaces which need more users and creatives. We also suspect there are many career creatives living in the borough who have not considered Kingston as a possible location for their business, i.e. potential demand which is untapped, rather than existing demand which is unmet.

4.8 One problem with creative spaces in New Malden was that not enough people knew what was there, including both producers and consumers. Added to this, there were spaces with clear potential – but which would need renovating to be used more, or to be seen as inspiring.

4.9 Our headline finding in relation to creative spaces is that several issues have become unhelpfully conflated; the imminent loss of space for live music in Kingston, the more general lack of workspaces of an attractive scale and type for creative businesses, the need for affordable space for ‘dirty fingernails’ work, the fact that many spaces with potential are in poor repair, and poor information exchange about those creative and cultural spaces which do exist.

New Malden – a microcosm of borough-wide issues 4.10 Our walkabout took the form of a guided walk planned and facilitated by a local New Malden community worker and arts organiser. The route took a group of stakeholders to community venues, pubs, churches, restaurants, and the local authority leisure centre. At each location we investigated with staff and owners what kinds of creative activities took place there. The group consisted of five stakeholders with varying levels of knowledge about New Malden, from one person who had never been to New Malden, to a former resident of 25 years.

4.11 The walkabout highlighted the extent that physical buildings, indoor and outdoor spaces, both formal and informal, have multiple cultural and creative uses. It also became clear that knowledge of these spaces is often exchanged only among small groups and networks, meaning that from a borough-wide perspective these places can fall under the radar. The paradox is that those in charge of these spaces want to see more use, footfall, or occupancy – be that in a leisure centre, community hall, local gallery, shop or pub. The barriers we identified were included skills, time-capacity, and knowledge about how best

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to make themselves visible. Many spaces were also desperate for renovation. A simple map (if it could be created using social technology rather than by creating a cottage industry) would be a start – but this is also about skills, co-ordination, and investment in quality

4.12 We found churches were being used for a multitude of creative activity. New Malden Methodist Church on the high street has five rooms used regularly for ticketed events including music concerts, theatre shows, and choir concerts – mostly by artists unrelated to the church congregation. The nearby St James’ Parish Church was advertising the London Korean Choral Society’s production of Don Giovani. There were also less obvious spaces being used. Several local cafés, shops and pubs displayed artwork by local visual artists. One local artist opens her own home as an occasional gallery for Korean artists and runs a popular private music and art school based above a shop on the high street. There were many public open spaces which have hosted cultural and creative activities. The car park of a local pub is used for New Malden’s monthly crafts and farmers market (although the layout is not ideal and it lacks power hook- ups), and one of London’s largest monthly meet-ups of American classic car enthusiasts takes place in the Krispy Kreme car park. The high street itself has been used as a setting for festivals and events and even ‘walking theatre’ productions where public spaces and shop interiors provide backdrops for different scenes. Just beyond the high street the Royal Oak Pub and Christchurch are the two main venues of the annual Surrey Steampunk Convivial which attracts an audience from across the UK.

4.13 The New Malden leisure centre hosts daily classes and courses, including arts and creative subjects –pottery classes are fully booked. The Kingston Environment Centre at one end of the high street hosts many creative activities including a local community radio station (the same one that becomes the on-site radio station for the Glastonbury Festival each year).

4.14 Some venues seemed well known (locally), and others were a surprise even for those who knew the area. One person who took part in the walkabout has lived in New Malden for 25 years – and even he was astonished at how much was going on.

4.15 New Malden is just one example which illustrates wider issues and we believe similar investigations could usefully be held in Tolworth, Surbiton, Kingston town centre, Hook and Chessington. The exercise enabled stakeholders to build connections and share knowledge which some of those who took part have since acted on – so even though the walkabout lasted only a few hours it had a network strengthening effect.

Low awareness of what exists 4.16 While there is a multitude of indoor and outdoor space in New Malden with great potential, poor communication, awareness and visibility have created a perception of a general shortage of creative space. There are also opportunities to adapt existing spaces (private or public) to encourage additional uses. Leisure centres can be adapted to host performances, exhibitions, or touchdown workspace, as can libraries - just as Wimbledon library have done with Wimbletech. Places of worship, shops, cafes and pubs could be offered as support to improve their suitability for creative production and consumption – upgrading access, or simply connecting them to potential users.

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Space for experimentation 4.17 Non-traditional venues (like retail units and churches), can be test-beds for activities which need small cheap spaces for short time periods. Such spaces enable them to test new propositions, establish presence, broaden their audience, and grow. We heard of plans to open an arts café in New Malden to serve as a hub and test retail demand for local crafts and visual art. Outdoor spaces can be considered too. In the same way that leisure centres provide rehearsal space alongside pottery classes - we were reminded that seasonal spaces in parks or public squares can be seen as “leisure centres without roofs” providing they have access, electricity, and flat ground. The same goes for spaces between buildings – existing ones, or in new developments.

Lack of co-worker and start-up space 4.18 One thing we did not see in New Malden however, was workspace or co-worker space for creatives and start-ups. Some New Malden workers were using local coffee shops, but these had limited space and the usual issues of noise and security for laptops and bags. The local library has desks and WiFi but is several minutes’ walk from other amenities including the railway station. New Malden high street itself now has free public WiFi thanks to a pioneering project by the Council. But besides conventional office space (of which there is a good supply in New Malden) for start-up and mobile workers, coffee shops are currently the only option.

Licensing and venues 4.19 The New Malden walkabout also touched on issues of licensing of regulated activities – such as playing live music – where clear policies of using licensing as an enabler could support the broader offer. One example is that of under 18 musicians and/or under 18 audiences. For instance, New Malden is now home to the Rock and Pop Academy run by the Kingston Music Service and supports a thriving scene of young musicians and performers. Most live music venues in the borough however, are either pubs or nightclubs which can be a barrier to young people either creating or experiencing live rock and pop music. To address this, support could be provided for venues serving alcohol to navigate licensing processes to put on events with young bands and audiences or for unlicensed venues (libraries, community halls, public buildings) to serve as venues for creative consumption through Temporary Event Notices.

Actions to open up creative places and spaces and building on existing assets and reputations: ● Engage with Local Plan revision to develop levers for increasing the supply creative and cultural spaces for production and consumption

● Convene a multi-disciplinary working group to support the positive management of the day and night-time economy

● Use the London Mayor’s Award to support live music production and consumption in Kingston town and across the borough

● Set cost-neutral briefs for developers for new open spaces – to deliver adaptable and accessible open public spaces for culture

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● Explore how to unlock the potential of existing outdoor spaces and infrastructure (e.g. through ‘placemaking’ study in Kingston town centre)

● Co-ordinate support for meanwhile spaces with licensing to test new concepts and animate neighbourhoods (e.g. arts café in New Malden)

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5. Evidence: local creative networks

5.1 A narrative sometimes offered about culture and creativity in the borough is that “Kingston is a cultural desert” and “everyone in the borough works in retail”. But as we have shown, nothing could be further from the truth. Cultural life is vibrant and the borough is bursting with creative professionals many at the top of their fields.

5.2 But the ‘wasteland’ narrative has traction because networks among those involved in creative and cultural work are often isolated from one another – they are more like an archipelago than an inter-linked web. The meetings convened to produce this strategy have brought together stakeholders from across Kingston’s creative and cultural sectors. At every workshop new connections have been made. With every invitation to a workshop we have asked those attending to pass the invitation on to others who might be interested – and at every stage we encountered new people wanting to take part. On the one hand this very positive and indicates the process has been worth investing time in. But it also underscores the potential which exists to join up existing networks to create more impact.

5.3 We have also sensed a growing realisation – tied to the growing confidence of Creative Kingston – that the lack of co-ordination between creative and cultural stakeholders is holding back the potential of the combined cultural offer. For example it means that for potential audiences and participants – be they local or visitors – the cultural offer has poor visibility compared say to the likes of Brighton and Hull.

5.4 It is not the case that people don’t collaborate or communicate. What we have seen is that Kingston has many clusters of micro-networks in different geographical areas or in different fields of interest. Many individuals provide strong leadership within their own circles, but those circles exist separately from each other – hence our term ‘archipelago’ of micro-networks rather than a web. What we have begun to hear from stakeholders is that it is “time to look outwards far more” from individual institutions or businesses, and outwards from specific fields and scenes.

5.5 What has also been identified by those involved in establishing Creative Kingston is that the borough lacks a mechanism that connects up the true breadth of creative activity, and the people behind it. It has been suggested with increasing enthusiasm that cultural and creative leaders themselves must now take steps to actively connect:

● organisers doing similar things; ● with organisers that want to do a similar thing and have new aspects to offer;

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● with the Council who can play an enabling role in allowing organisers to carry out their aims and ambitions; ● and with residents across the whole borough. 5.6 A mechanism - centred around an annual showcase event (and supported by networking communication) that pushes the development of a creative and cultural community encompassing the whole borough would do a great deal to allow the cultural offer to become stronger. It would facilitate simple partnerships like linking performing arts groups to a greater variety of venues and audiences in the borough. It could enable emerging activities or businesses to accelerate their growth and find support. It could fast-track the formation of new collaborations to seek investment or funding. It could allow the many grassroots endeavours to break out and grow, including those driven by migrant and BAME communities.

5.7 Some stakeholders were keen to have a ‘directory’ while others emphasised the importance of face-to-face contact and more dynamic means of keeping in contact (e.g. using digital networking platforms rather than having a traditional directory or list).

5.8 From the stakeholder meetings we have held we see that just by bringing people together face-to-face, enabling knowledge and awareness to be passed on and connections and networks to develop and mature

5.9 In the future we can see how stronger networks can also enable more effective co-programming – not just between activity in close proximity (e.g. Kingston Town Centre) but between those spread across the borough (as already happens with the Kingston Artists Open House weekends). Stronger networks would enable co-programming to be planned over extended time-frames e.g. to have festivals in different parts of the borough strategically times across the calendar year.

5.10 In the final stages of the stakeholder engagement and research for this strategy the Kingston Youth Council (which represents 8,000 young people from the borough’s schools and colleges) made a strong case for the engagement of those aged under 20 in shaping and delivering this strategy. It therefore seems essential that Kingston Youth Council is also ncluded in the networks which take forward this strategy.

Actions to strengthen creative networks: ● Create an annual event where organisations and individuals from the borough can showcase the creative and cultural offer

● Support joining-up of micro networks including those which connect international, migrant, and BAME communities

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● Create a more formal partnership involving fulltime education, HE, FE and LLL partners (drawing on Culture Capital Exchange model34)

● Create a joined up online arts and culture visitor offer to match the likes of Brighton and Hull

34 The Culture Capital Exchange is an HE-led network based at Somerset House which enables artists, creatives and researchers to develop mutually beneficial relationships and form new collaborations by providing support for network development and seed funding.

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6. Evidence: international networks

Kingston’s international connections 6.1 The borough of Kingston has diverse international connections. It is home to large Sri Lankan, Somalian, Korean, Arabic, Polish and Hungarian communities. Data for 2016 shows 14 per cent of residents were born in Asia (mostly South or East Asia), and 10 per cent were born outside the UK in other European Union countries.

6.2 These communities create a strong presence in many parts of the borough, through arts and events, retail and food, places of worship and schools. New Malden is the most notable example being home to 10,000 South Koreans; the largest South Korean community in Europe. Through Korean supermarkets, eateries, churches, plus and cultural and creative activities, Korean culture is experienced by the entire community and visitors regardless of background, and awareness of the Koreatown offer is recognised far beyond the borough.

International events 6.3 The diversity of the borough provides opportunities to celebrate and learn about different cultures and communities especially through face-to-face events and activities – including the annual town centre carnival organised by Global Arts. Involvement in cultural events also provides a route in for people from different communities to the wider cultural life of the borough.

6.4 Kingston’s international events provide opportunities for visitors and residents from different countries to participate in Kingston’s cultural and creative life. These include the International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF), which over the past nine years has brought together audiences and performers from across the globe – some of whom have subsequently set down roots in the borough. Similarly Frame, the London dance film festival has attracted film makers from across the world to showcase independent films while the Ignition dance festival attracts local and international choreographers to create new work to premiere at the Rose Theatre. ‘Art in Transit’ was a combination of exhibition and cultural exchange organised by Kingston Artists Open Studios with artists from Kingston and its twin town of Oldenburg, Germany. The Kingston Korean Festival organised jointly by the Council and the Korean British Cultural Exchange, has grown in scale and in 2017 included visiting artists from Korea’s ‘Artrash’ scene (an arts and environmental movement).

6.5 These events already play an important role in building the borough’s international relationships, but stakeholders see potential for them to help build deeper links not just with individuals visitors, but with networks in visitors’ home communities. Of particular interest was the potential to seek out cultural leaders in those visitors’ own communities.

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Formal international links 6.6 Kingston Council has formal twinning arrangements with: Oldenburg, Germany; Gwanak-gu, South Korea; and Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jinju Province in South Korea.

6.7 These formal twinning arrangements have been a platform for a range of bilateral cultural and knowledge-exchange projects in education and schools, performing arts, business, inward investment, and enterprise. However, stakeholders saw that these links could also be used as enablers for wider range of activities – facilitated by the Council but arranged and led by others.

6.8 The Rose Theatre is also building links with specific cities through its plans for international touring in Hong Kong, China, the US and Middle East. Here too the challenge is building lasting bilateral relationships from these which provide mutual support.

Barriers to making more of international links 6.9 Kingston has a great foundation of international relationships by virtue of its resident population, international events, and formal twinning. However, it has become increasingly challenging to capitalise on these connections – especially when it comes to the cultural and creative sector. The biggest challenge is the cost of building international relationships. While visits and exchanges to other countries are usually funded by the host, it has become increasingly difficult to access funding for Kingston to host reciprocal and return visits.

6.10 Stakeholders also pointed to the fact that international visitors who come to Kingston for events like IYAF, to visit the Rose Theatre, or play the Hippodrome will often then go to see the central London sights but may not explore locally. They saw great potential in having more visitor ‘propositions’ along with legibility and identity projects for exploring the borough, e.g. based around the Thames riverside, Chessington World of Adventures, arts and culture, food, built heritage and so on. These need not be seen as tasks for the Council as part of its streetscene and highways role, rather it could be achieved by tapping into local artists and creatives taking inspiration from the Kingston Artists Open House trails or the RPM festival which celebrates Kingston’s music heritage. One stakeholder also suggested a poetry map and Kingston First expressed interest in ensuring materials are translated into languages geared to the largest groups of visitors.

6.11 Hosting international visitors as part of relationship building, and encouraging visitors to stay and explore locally are further examples of the kinds of actions which a ‘Per Cent for Culture’ would enable.

Actions to increase international impact and networks: ● All partners to involve the Council’s International Team at the early stage or activity with an international dimension

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● Use IYAF as a test-bed for strengthening international relationships with the home communities of visitors to festivals (cultural leaders, communities, and investors) through a partnership between Creative Youth and the Korean British Cultural Exchange

● Ensure Kingston’s ‘legibility’ strategy supports opportunities to encourage international visitors to explore locally

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7. Evidence: hardwiring growth into culture

7.1 The rewards from creative and cultural activity - growth in jobs, income, economic activity, land values – only arise where there is investment. Hardwiring growth into culture, and culture into growth, means creating hard mechanisms for growth to contribute investment back into cultural activity.

7.2 For much of the last century a significant amount of investment in arts and culture came from local government through revenue programmes, capital programmes, and grants to individual cultural organisations. Local authorities can still play a strategic enabling role, but cannot provide financial resources on any significant scale. This strategy therefore proposes financial resources come not from Council budgets, but from the value of redevelopment through a “per cent for culture” mechanism. This is a well-recognised framework internationally, implemented by local authorities across the UK including Bolton, Wandsworth, and councils in the East Midlands, and South West35.

Outline options for hardwiring growth into culture 7.3 There are several practical routes to implementing “a per cent for culture” using Supplementary Planning Documents, Section 106, and other revenue gathering powers. The details of a workable scheme appropriate to Kingston should be the focus of further work under the action plan for this strategy. But we have identified several routes which should be explored further.

Borough-wide mechanisms

Fixed “Per cent” or “Pound” contributions model 7.4 Fixed-contribution models have been implemented across the country and internationally. Some have focused narrowly on ‘art’ but they have also been used to support broader cultural strategies.

7.5 LB Wandsworth’s model assigns money-contributions using a broad definition of the cultural and creative industries. Contributions are based on the sqm of non-residential space, and the number of residential units and applies to all developments above a certain threshold. Developments above the threshold must also produce Cultural Action Plans which set out how they will contribute to Wandsworth’s Cultural Development Plan. This requirement sits within

35 Older schemes introduced in the UK often focused narrowly on ‘art’ but the Wandsworth model secures investment for more-rounded ‘cultural’ investment.

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Wandsworth’s Planning Obligations SPD36 alongside general provisions about supporting culture and the creative industries which are very similar to Kingston’s own Planning Obligations SPD. In addition, Wandsworth has also secured funding from developers involved in the Nine Elms regeneration area to set up Cultivate, a programme providing cultural education opportunities to local 7-19 year olds37.

7.6 Bolton’s housing company (Bolton at Home) provides a similar stream of resources from the housing it develops to invest in ‘arts projects which improve communities’ and ‘schemes that offer creative solutions to community issues’. Internationally, Philadelphia have a long-established policy overseen by the Philadelphia Development Authority which requires developers to commission art (including community and public arts and cultural programmes) as part of the development process, which must be equivalent to the value of at least one per cent of the total construction costs.

Developer Agreements 7.7 These could be applied across the borough or to specific development areas. Through a Section 106 or a Cultural Community Infrastructure Levy, the use of developer agreements to stimulate meanwhile space and investment in activity is a tool that which can be used, to a certain extent, to deliver against the cultural agenda.

Cultural Loan Fund / Cultural Development Fund 7.8 This model involves leveraging funding from a range of sources internal and external to the Council (which could include those just described) to develop an investment fund for cultural activity. This could be invested as hard or soft loans for eligible creative businesses or cultural activities which would continue to be reinvested over time as repayments are made. The ‘interest’ payable could also be in the form of ‘outcomes’ such as job creation (similar in concept to a Social Impact Bond), apprenticeship development, new business formation.

7.9 A loan fund of this sort could be capitalised initially through a bid to the recently announced DCMS Cultural Development Fund announced in the Budget which will ‘support the role culture can play in regeneration and local growth’.

36 LB Wandsworth’s SPD for Planning Obligations was adopted in 2015 and sets a cultural contribution level of £400 per dwelling and £20,000 per 10,000sqm of non- residential space 37 The Cultivate programme was set up by Wandsworth to connect young people with cultural opportunities being created in Nine Elms, and is funded by developers, the council and the arts charity A New Direction.

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Neighbourhood specific mechanisms

Property Owner BIDs to support cultural development 7.10 These by definition relate to specific neighbourhoods. Business Improvement Districts have been in existence since the 1960’s, where they were first established in Canada and the US. Most of the BIDs in England (like Kingston First) are town centre BIDs but can also cover industrial, commercial and mixed-use locations. Property owners (who are often not the occupiers) can contribute to a BID but there is no formal levy. Since legislation was passed in 2009 and DCLG established regulations in 2014, Property Owner38 Business Improvement Districts were introduced which establishes a more formal route to enabling contributions from owners. This allows ‘critical long-term stakeholders… [to] make contributions and have a voice on planning and strategic decisions that affect their property’39.

7.11 A Property Owner BID must exist in the same geographical area as a conventional ratepayer BID but since 2017 no longer needs to involve a Business Rate Supplement area. A Property Owner BID is more likely to address longer-term issues relating to investment and promotion of the town centre.

7.12 There are currently three Property Owner BIDs in London, Heart of London (x2) and the New West End Company40. Aviva and John Lewis Partnership are both involved in these central London Property Owner BIDs. Their views may be relevant to replicating this in Kingston.

Creative Enterprise Zones 7.13 A tried and tested model to support economic activity in defined geographies, using business rate uplift in the long-term to pay for development in the short-term, or by allowing capital receipts to offset investment costs. There is currently a significant time-limited opportunity to develop new CEZs using the London Mayor’s new £500,000 fund which seeks to kickstart new CEZs. Working with stakeholders including Kingston University, the borough applied for this Mayoral funding to develop an implementation plan for a CEZ focused on the Knights Park campus and town centre.

7.14 An alternative model could be considered for creating a flow of investment by setting aside a percentage of business rate yield from creative and cultural rate payers. Hypothecating business rates in this way, could find investment in cultural projects such as training and apprenticeships, engagement

38 Owner Definition: The first lessee above the rateable occupier where the current lease is granted for a term of more than 35 years, or in the absence of a relevant first lessee, the freeholder.

39 Mary Portas High streets at the heart of our communities: government response to the Mary Portas review (30 March 2012): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-streets-at-the-heart-of-our-communitiesgovernment-response-to-the-mary-portas-review 40 The New West End Company has published a summary of their Property Owner BID model

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programmes in schools, colleges and universities, or meanwhile projects. However, this would be a form of local authority funding rather than a method for securing external investment.

Actions to hardwire growth into culture ● Detailed scoping towards a viable “Per Cent for Culture” mechanism informed by Wandsworth model and tested with commercial partners

● Undertake scoping of a wider framework for securing resources through mechanisms including the Local Plan, S106, CIL, and licensing

● Explore other options for hardwiring growth into culture at a neighbourhood specific and borough-wide level (e.g. property BIDs and CLF)

● Develop a workable model for Cultural Enterprise Zones to encourage more creative economy SMEs to put down roots in the borough (in particular those involving Kingston residents and graduates from the University) 8. How the strategy was produced

8.1 This strategy would not have been possible were it not for the hundreds of hours of time generously given by dozens of local stakeholders from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. This document and the ideas which underpin it are the product of shared effort towards common goals.

8.2 This strategy has been produced over nine-month period, and through a process which combined hard evidence with stakeholder insight, knowledge, and ambition. It builds on research which Shared Intelligence undertook the previous year into Kingston’s economic growth - in which culture emerged as central to the growth story. There is a list at the end of this section of the individuals who contributed directly by participating in workshops or interviews, or through written contributions.

8.3 This process has taken place at a moment when recognition is growing nationally about the contribution of culture to economic growth and when the steps to establish Creative Kingston as the borough’s cultural partnership, is injecting more confidence into the creative and cultural sector locally. This work has tapped into and aided a process of ambition-raising in the borough.

8.4 Our work began with detailed analysis of local economic data including the scale of the creative and cultural sector in Kingston (using the DCMS definition of creative industries) – by which we mean the number of employers, number of employees, and crucially, the number of local residents working in the creative and cultural sector.

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8.5 We then undertook a series of interviews with 16 senior stakeholders from the Council and other statutory partners, creative and arts businesses, landowners, and education partners.

8.6 From this we were able to start presenting to stakeholders the broad shape of Kingston’s creative economy and asking – “how can the sector do more and contribute more?”. This question was posed and refined through a series of three large workshops in June, September and November which each had open invites to creatives, businesses, cultural leaders and practitioners, public agencies and elected members. Many stakeholders attended all three, which contributed to a strong body of knowledge and common understanding of the issues. Over 80 stakeholders received information about the workshops, and 46 individuals attended one or more of the workshops.

8.7 At the first large workshop in June we were also able to seek volunteers to undertake, with our support, more detailed investigations into specific issues. Sub-groups to discuss these issues ran in parallel over the summer and early autumn looking at evidence and future actions around six themes; creative skills, space for creation and consumption, hardwiring growth, connecting culture across the borough, international links, and developing the cultural narrative. The sub-groups which investigated these themes or “Asks”, were vital to understanding the local detail of each issue, and corralling ideas and actions into the strategy and action plan.

8.8 Throughout the process more people came forward to offer to play a role, and we discovered an ever-wider network of cultural and creative professionals. We have seen that this process itself has help build and connect networks and individuals within the borough.

8.9 Through this process of listening, presenting data, challenging, and reflecting back – we have been able to build a strategy which represents a collective vision of what Kingston can become. This is based on a collective assessment of the evidence, of what the strategy needs to be to achieve the vision, and a shared set of actions which capitalise on stakeholders’ skills, assets and passions – and which have traction.

8.10 This strategy articulates and stretches the direction we have heard stakeholders wanting to pursue through the process just described. It has channelled their ideas – drawn out common themes – given names to important issue and provided the data which underpins the argument. It aims to amplify ideas which are already rippling out through the different networks to reach all those involved in the creative and cultural life of the borough.

8.11 In other words, this report itself is absolutely made in Kingston.

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The following stakeholders generously gave their time and actively engaged in producing this strategy by participating in workshops, interviews, and providing written contributions

A New Direction Holly Donagh Arts Council England Louise Jardine All Saints Church Jonathan Wilkes Anstee Bridge Katherine Greening Assael Architecture Russell Pedley BalletBoyz Kerry Whelan Banquet Records Jon Tolley Bounce Theatre Louise Pendry Rachel Turner Community arts worker Danielle O'Shaughnessy Community Brain/Creative Kingston Robin Hutchinson cornerHOUSE Jeremy Thorn Ian Davies Creative Youth Phil Hetherington Fusion Arts Chris Birch Janie Harland Global Arts Mike Thakar Heritage Lottery Fund Anne Dodwell Selina Papa Kingston Artists Open Studios (KAOS) Caroline Calascione Cressida Borrett Kingston Adult Education Chris Cox Kingston Arts Alistair Lark Richard Swift Kingston College Catherine Howett Kingston University David Falkner Jennifer Edwards Steven Spier Kingston Upon Thames Society Anthony Evans

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Kingston First Kirsten Henly Korean British Cultural Exchange Justina Jang Music in New Malden Jane Booth John Irving New Malden Arts Hannah Ten Doornkaat Quilombo Anna Barker Riverside Edge Greg Miles Rose Theatre Robert O'Dowd South Thames Colleges Group Peter Mayhew-Smith St Matthews Church Simon Hancock The Creative Colony Matthew Joblin The Hub Wendy Smithers Visconti Studio Isabella van Elferen

A number of other stakeholders were invited to take part, but were unable to participate actively.

KINGSTON UPON THAMES CULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Insight & Data Team [Email address] Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ...... 3 IMPORTANCE OF ARTS AND CULTURE ...... 4 Table 1. Cultural Attendance Across London ...... 5 PROJECT OVERVIEW ...... 8 Research Methodology ...... 8 Strategic context...... 9 Scope of the Analysis ...... 10 CONTRIBUTION OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE INDUSTRY TO THE UK ECONOMY ...... 11 Chart 1. Direct Impact of Arts and Culture in the UK, 2016 ...... 11 DRIVERS OF ARTS AND CULTURE ENGAGEMENT AND DEMAND ...... 13 Early Years Exposure ...... 13 Education ...... 13 Place and Activity Location ...... 13 Table 2. Kingston Public Transport Accessibility - Bus Stop availability ...... 14 Map 1. TFL Transport Accessibility Levels ...... 15 Local interest ...... 16 Socialising opportunities ...... 16 DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS ...... 17 Figure 1. Kingston Population Pyramid - 2019 ...... 17 Figure 2. Kingston Population Projection ...... 18 Figure 3. Kingston Population Projection (2016-2050) ...... 19 Figure 4. Kingston Ethnic Groups Population - 2019...... 20 Figure 5. Kingston Population Projection by Ethnicity (Indexed to 2019, Base Year=100) ...... 21 Borough Deprivation Profile ...... 22 Table 3. Index of Multiple Deprivation - 2019 ...... 22 Map 2. A Map of Kingston’s Index of Multiple Deprivation Deciles - 2019 (LSOA Level) ...... 23 Student Population...... 24 Figure 6. Full-time Students (NS-SeC)* ...... 24 Projection implications ...... 25

POPULATION SEGMENTATION ...... 26 Socio-economic categories: ...... 27 Table 4. NRS Socio-economic Classification Categories ...... 27 Audience Spectrum Segmentation Model ...... 28 Table 5. Audience Spectrum Segmentation for Kingston ...... 28 Audience Spectrum segment descriptions ...... 29 Metro-culturals (High cultural engagement) ...... 29 Commuter-land Culture-buffs (High cultural engagement) ...... 29 Experience Seekers (High cultural engagement) ...... 29 Dormitory Dependables (Medium cultural engagement) ...... 30 Kaleidoscope Creativity (Low engagement) ...... 30 Trips & Treats (Medium engagement) ...... 30 Home & Heritage (Medium engagement) ...... 31 Up Our Street (Low engagement) ...... 31 Facebook Families (Low engagement) ...... 31 Arts and Cultural Attendance ...... 32 SUPPLY ANALYSIS ...... 34 Overview of current provisions ...... 34 Kingston Libraries ...... 36 Cultural Assets Venues ...... 39 Kingston Libraries and Community Centres ...... 37 Kingston Creative Workspaces ...... 44 Kingston Public Art & Heritage at Risk ...... 47 Kingston Heritage – Listed Buildings ...... 48 Kingston Pubs & Bars ...... 49 APPENDIX 1 – DEMOGRAPHIC MAPS ...... 51 APPENDIX 2: BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 53

INTRODUCTION

This section of the Kingston Culture Needs Assessment provides an analysis of current assets provisions and demand for cultural infrastructure in The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. We consider any deficit or gaps in provisions with a view to assisting the Borough’s strategic planning and future capital expenditure priorities.

The section starts with covering the socio-demographic make-up of the borough and the demand for cultural infrastructure provisions based on population distribution and planned growth while taking into account relevant catchment’s lifestyle and economic characteristics. What cultural infrastructure assets exist in the Borough, their location and commentary on facilities key characteristics and use is also provided when possible.

The cultural assets categories covered include public, heritage and monuments, archives and galleries, libraries and community centres, public houses (pubs), cultural assets venues and creative workspaces.

Of note, however, is the limited availability of measures providing guidance on cultural assets demand assessment. Part of the reason is that the arts and cultural market is fragmented with the availability of large numbers of multi-purpose facilities. There is also the willingness of culture performers to adapt to non-bespoke performance venues. Thus with most art and cultural provision, it is not possible to determine need according to a number of venues. This analysis therefore draws on a range of research findings and experts interviews to form a picture of need for these facilities within Kingston.

IMPORTANCE OF ARTS AND CULTURE The importance of understanding what drives demand for culture can be found in the wider social benefits associated with cultural involvement. These include the reduction in social exclusion, improvement in individual self-esteem, educational attainment or health status and much more. While culture plays a pivotal role in the fabric of society, however its definition and interpretations vary widely.

For many, culture remains the preserve of privileged traditional audiences and embodies the values of institutionalised authority. It is therefore not surprising that many segments of society fail to see the relevance of culture in the traditional sense – opera, ballet, classical music or jazz, museums, galleries and heritage sites – to their lives. Nonetheless culture in the wider sense – incorporating popular forms, as well as the wider-reaching aspects of heritage, history and socio-cultural belonging – remains important to most, whether or not these aspects are perceived as being addressed by the cultural services on offer.

Table 1. Cultural Attendance Across London

Apr 2015 - Mar 2018

Public Museum or gallery library Heritage site The arts

Gender

Male 54% 33% 64% 73%

Female 57% 41% 64% 78%

Age

16-44 57% 37% 64% 79%

45+ 53% 38% 63% 71%

Education

Higher education or above 75% 42% 79% 88%

Other qualifications 46% 34% 57% 72%

Ethnicity

White 64% 35% 72% 79%

BAME 43% 40% 51% 69%

Disability

Not disabled 58% 37% 66% 78%

Disabled 45% 35% 52% 64%

Social class

Higher socio-economic group 67% 39% 75% 83%

Lower socio-economic group 33% 32% 44% 60%

Work

Not in work 45% 41% 54% 66%

In work 62% 35% 70% 81%

Tenure

Owner-occupiers 61% 41% 71% 80%

Social and private rent 50% 33% 56% 70% Source: © GLA EDI 2019

Across London, data collected over a three year period by GLA EDI (the Mayor's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy that brings together publicly available data relevant to equalities in London into a series of measures) shows that Londoners with higher education or above qualifications have higher rates of arts participation and attendance in cultural activities than the rest.

Research evidence has demonstrated that significant barriers to attendance and participation remain in the form of access, time pressure, cost, community influence, trend and performance or event reputation. These criteria do not remain the same for all populations, as these elements have different influences on different groups (Arts Council England, 2008; National Endowment for the Arts, 2015).

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), through its various delivery bodies – Arts Council England (ACE), Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and English Heritage among others, through a variety of research surveys, most recently the “Taking Part” survey, have often voiced the challenge they face in delivering for the following three priority groups: disabled people, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities and lower socio-economic groups.

Each of these groups shows lower-than-average levels of attendance and engagement in traditional or institutionalised forms of culture. While all these three groups are internally diverse, each has its own dynamics and preferences which need to be accommodated by the cultural sector.

To build cultural services that address the needs and interests of this substantial portion of the society, a good understanding of the fundamental drivers of demand and make-up of our communities; indeed approximately 32.5% of Kingston’s population is from BME community and around 26% fall into the C2DE occupational categories.

C2DE refers to the conventional measurements of blue-collar (working class) group relating individuals to the type of job done by the head of each household. If the head of the household has a manual job or relies on state benefits then he/she is deemed working class. If the main breadwinner works in an office or has a professional qualification or is a senior or middle manager, then s/he is deemed middle-class (ABC1). These conventional classifications were very clear half a century ago, when more a big majority of workers were involved in manual labour, typically in factories, mines, shipyards or farming. They are less relevant in today’s job markets where white collars often work on site and many blue collars have designer labels.

The view of these groups as monolithic or internally homogenous however, runs the risk of oversimplifying the dynamics and crossovers characteristic of these communities. For instance, lower engagement from some BME communities may be accounted for by the effects of deprivation

6 and or other socio-economic factors and the practical barriers they imply rather than their respective ethnic identity.

In that sense, a broad-based strategy may present a more potent appeal to a borough such as Kingston in view of its socio-demographics and lifestyle composition. However, where significant differences are identified, a nuanced reading should be prioritized and consultation or in-depth research conducted to understand areas of differentiation.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This section provides a commentary and analysis of demand and supply, and resulting needs analysis considerations for culture and arts venues in Kingston.

Having begun with an overview of relevant planning and policy documents and other research findings of relevance to all arts and cultural provisions, it proceeds with arts and culture infrastructure demand analysis and assets mapping, concluding with the identification of deficits in facility provisions important in prioritising future planning and capital expenditure.

For cultural assets however, the reality on the ground is that the balance of supply and demand is not so easily modelled. Whereas modelling and benchmarking have been developed for Sport and Leisure facilities to estimate projected demand for, say, swimming pools, no such measure exists to guide on how many theatres or how many music venues or venue seats are needed for an area.

The music and performance market in general is a fragmented industry, with large numbers of multi-purpose venues, a situation often compounded by, in many cases, the ability and willingness of performers to adapt to non-bespoke performance spaces.

Research Methodology This analysis has therefore used a range of methods to project likely demand in the borough of Kingston consisting of:

● An assessment of audience and attendance potential, including analysis of demographic and lifestyle characteristics

● Spatial culture assets auditing and mapping

● A review of cultural provisions relative to Kingston’s CIPFA ‘nearest neighbours’ when available

● Reference to complementary or competing arts and culture venues in Neighbouring boroughs and Central London

● Consultation and discussions with culture and arts experts and venue officers

Strategic context ● The data from Taking Part Survey shows that across England, attendance at arts and cultural events tends to vary significantly from those who attend a wide range of arts and cultural events nearly on a weekly basis to those who rarely attend cultural activities, if at all.

● There are a number of barriers preventing people from attending arts events - some of these are primarily attributable to practical considerations including accessibility, costs, competing opportunities in Central London and other neighbouring boroughs, while others are turns to be attitudinal in nature.

● Beyond a 30 minute drive-time, Kingston’s prospective arts and culture audiences may start considering Central London alternatives and those available in neighbouring boroughs

● The Council and/or its partners deliver a number of valued arts and cultural offers including: The Rose Theatre, The Corner House, Kingston Libraries and the Odeon Cinema, all testament to the Borough’s ability to develop quality products and deliver quality arts and cultural performances.

● However, unlike other valuable building infrastructure, not much has been agreed or captured in planning documents about what needs to be done to protect, retain or expand arts and culture assets so important to the borough residents.

● Investment, development or indeed improvements of Kingston cultural assets has been patchy and limited

Scope of the Analysis

The specific task addressed within this section of the report include: ● A review of relevant policy and planning documents including Kingston Council Core Strategy, Kingston Borough New Local Plan, Culture Strategy, Council Corporate Plan, London Culture Infrastructure Plan and National Policy Planning Framework; ● Borough demographic analysis and lifestyle review ● Consideration of residents cultural engagement and arts events attendance rates including review of DCMS Taking Part Survey and GLA EDI (the Mayor of London’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy) measures for Arts and Culture; ● Mapping of current cultural facility provisions; and ● Identification of cultural facilities deficits and projected gaps

CONTRIBUTION OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE INDUSTRY TO THE UK ECONOMY

Gross Value Added

Recent research by CEBR (Centre for Economics and Business Research) shows that the arts and culture industry generated £21.2bn in direct turnover in 2016, £10.8bn in Gross Value Added (with £8.6bn of this being contributed by the market segment of the arts and culture industry and the remaining £2.2bn being contributed by the non-market segment). In 2016 alone, the sector generated 137,250 jobs and £6.1bn in employee compensation. Chart 1. Direct Impact of Arts and Culture in the UK, 2016

Source: © CEBR, ONS

Productivity

Productivity in the arts and culture industry between 2009 and 2016 was greater than that of the economy as a whole, with gross value added per worker recorded at £62,000 for arts and culture, compared to £46,800 for the wider UK economy (Source: CEBR report - Contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy Report for Arts Council England April 2019). While the Arts Council invests around £700 million each year alongside the National Museums with an annual £450 million, however the most significant contributor has been Local Authorities. Collectively they invest £1.1 billion in museums, theatres, libraries – more than the former two combined (Source: Funding Arts and Culture in a Time of Austerity, NLGN 2016).

This is because Local Authorities have recognised the value of art and culture to local quality of life, to attracting tourists and skilled workers, to boosting their creative economies. However, over the past eight years, Local Authority budgets, having been under unprecedented pressure, have had to cut some of this funding to museums, libraries and to the arts and culture in general (Source: County Councils Network, Jan 2019). This is the biggest challenge facing arts and culture at the moment. At a time of belt-tightening across local authorities, it can feel extravagant to put money into museums, theatres and libraries which would otherwise be funding care homes and schools. This however ignores the contribution of arts and culture to the high-street and town centres. Without culture, many town centres and high-streets are increasingly lifeless as retail outlets are replaced by online commerce, closing shop after shop.

DRIVERS OF ARTS AND CULTURE ENGAGEMENT AND DEMAND Early Years Exposure There is significant evidence1 that shows childhood exposure2 to the arts has a powerful effect on art and culture appreciation and consumption in later age. Hence the need to increase efforts to include active participation in children’s educational journey.

Education Two aspects of education have been found to drive art attendance and culture participation in adults. A desire to educate children leads adults to attend arts and cultural activities.

The other aspect of education is that as educational attainment increases so too the participation and attendance at arts and culture events increases the likelihood of visits to museums, galleries, libraries (DCMS, Participation and Engagement in Cultural Activities: Analysis of the Taking Part Survey, Aug 2011).

Place and Activity Location Lack of time, energy and access to transport are all commonly cited barriers to participation and consequently the location of culture is believed to be a driver for participation and attendance. An Ipsos Mori Research (2010) conducted for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has noted that convenience is one of the most important factors in generating take-up of arts and cultural services particularly for people in lower socio-economic groups. The study found that almost 31% of visitors visit museums and galleries near to where they live on a regular basis. There is evidence to suggest that the degree to which the localisation of cultural activities drives demand is dependent on income. Thus, location is particularly important as a driver for use of cultural opportunities for residents in the lower socio-economic groups.

The research also found that the less people earned, the less distance they were willing to travel to attend a museum, library or archive. The percentage of visitors on ‘hard pressed means’ declines as the ‘drive time’ to get to the museum, library or archive increases, with 27% having travelled 0- 30 minutes and only 21% having travelled over an hour. And the opposite is true for what the report terms ‘wealthy achievers’.

Table 2. Kingston Public Transport Accessibility - Bus Stop availability

Ward Name Bus Stops Sq. Km Bus Stop/Sq. Km Bus Stop/1000 People

Alexandra 18 2.68 6.7 1.8

Berrylands 16 1.45 11.0 1.6

Beverley 13 1.88 6.9 1.2

Canbury 17 1.24 13.7 1.1

Chessington North and Hook 15 1.93 7.8 1.6

Chessington South 16 7.55 2.1 1.5

Coombe Hill 21 4.41 4.8 1.8

Coombe Vale 10 1.65 6.1 1.0

Grove 20 1.92 10.4 1.6

Norbiton 15 1.35 11.1 1.4

Old Malden 15 1.81 8.3 1.5

St James 17 2.17 7.8 1.8

St Mark's 15 1.38 10.9 1.1

Surbiton Hill 17 1.66 10.2 1.5

Tolworth and Hook Rise 12 2.60 4.6 1.2

For disabled people, barriers to participation and attendance and getting to an event in particular is often the most difficult part of engaging with a cultural activity. Most of this cohort relies on public transport for most commutes. As such, for this group, it is highly likely that locating cultural activities in the local area will significantly increase their participation and hence their demand, assuming that public transport infrastructure is accessible.

For BME, the over-representation of people from these communities in lower socio-economic groups reinforces localisation as a driver of cultural demand for this group.

Map 1. TFL Transport Accessibility Levels

Source: TFL, Transport for London, Public Transport Accessibility Levels (2015)

Local interest An interest in culture which is specific to the place in which residents are invested or have spent a major part of their lives, can drive demand for cultural activities and heritage in particular. In a visitor poll conducted for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), local history is mentioned by 55% of the survey respondents as the most interesting topic and was the third most cited theme behind ‘How people used to live’ (62%) and ‘Ancient history’ (57%)

Socialising opportunities Arts Council England (ACE) has identified socialising opportunity as one of the most crucial component of engagement with arts and culture, for lower socio-economic groups in particular. Its research shows that these groups consider the opportunity to socialise at museums and galleries as an important motivator for attendance, and attending in a group is a more important feature of attendance than for the rest of survey respondents. For this group, people are also more likely to expect a sense of fun, rather than hard-edged learning or educational outcomes from a visit.

DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

Currently, the Kingston borough GLA projected population for 2019 is 180,598 of which 91,128 are female and 89,470 male residents. This figure is projected to reach 201,600 by 2029.

Kingston population pyramid is characterised by a relatively smaller base and an aging population.

Figure 1. Kingston Population Pyramid - 2019

Source: GLA 2016 housing-led Projections

The features of Kingston’s population pyramid are reflected in the projected population changes over the next 10 years: Figure 2. Kingston Population Projection

Source: GLA 2016 housing-led Projections

In summary, from 2019 to 2029, Kingston population is projected to increase by 25,500 people (14.5%). The largest projected increases consist of the following changes in its residents age cohorts in the upper section of the pyramid: ● Increase of 900 for 90+ year olds; ● Increase of 614 for 85-89 year olds; ● Increase of 1747 for 80-84 year olds; and ● Increase of 1,396 for 75-79 year olds; Conversely, Kingston population will experience a decline in the following population cohorts: ● Decrease of 23 for 0-4 year olds; ● Decrease of 430 for 5-9 year olds; and ● Decrease of 241 for 25-29 year olds.

Long-term, Kingston population is projected to increase by 49,700 people to 225,800 by 2050 consisting of: ● Increase of 21,600 (92%) for 65+ year olds; ● Increase of 7,200 (47%) for 55-64 year olds; ● Increase of 7,900 (20%) for 45-54 year old; ● Increase of 3,800 (13.8%) for 35-44 year olds; ● Increase of 2,000 (7%) for 25-34 year olds; ● Increase of 4,800 (22.9%) for 16-24 year olds; and ● Increase of 4,700 (13.4%) for 0-15 year olds;

Figure 3. Kingston Population Projection (2016-2050)

Source: GLA 2016 housing-led Projections

Just over two thirds (67.5%) of Kingston residents are white with white British making up 79.1% of the group. Almost one-third (32.5%) are from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, comprising Asian ethnicity 20.7%, mixed ethnicity 5.6%, black ethnicity 3.2% and Arab 2.2% (2019).

Figure 4. Kingston Ethnic Groups Population - 2019

Source: GLA 2016 housing-led Projections

The BAME population in Kingston is projected to increase from 32.5% currently to 36% over the next 10 years (2019 to 2029), with the greatest increase occurring in the Asian ethnic groups.

Figure 5. Kingston Population Projection by Ethnicity (Indexed to 2019, Base Year=100)

Borough Deprivation Profile

Overall, Kingston is considered to be an affluent borough despite pockets of deprivation across the area. There is one Kingston Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) in the most deprived 20% of all areas in England, and four LSOAs in the most deprived 40%. 3.2% of Kingston’s population fall within the 30% most deprived nationally. There are also very affluent areas: 38 of the 98 LSOAs are in the least deprived 20% nationally. 53% fall within the 30% least deprived groups nationally. Table 3. Index of Multiple Deprivation - 2019

Multiple Deprivation

IMD 2019 Percent of Population within Band - Cumulative Population within Band - Population in Band Population (Persons of all ages -2018) Cumulative %

Most Deprived 10% 0 0% 0 0%

20% 1,862 1.06% 1,862 1.06%

30% 3,808 2.17% 5,670 3.23%

40% 1,530 0.87% 7,200 4.10%

50% 12,622 7.19% 19,822 11.30%

60% 27,695 15.78% 47,517 27.08%

70% 34,942 19.91% 82,459 46.99%

80% 27,779 15.83% 110,238 62.82% Least Deprived 100% 22,122 12.61% 175,470 100.00%

Map 2. A Map of Kingston’s Index of Multiple Deprivation Deciles - 2019 (LSOA Level)

Student Population

Kingston has a significantly higher than national and indeed higher than the London average percentage of full time students (16+ years old). This is due (check) to the presence of higher education establishments such as Kingston University, a Top 50 UK University with over 14,000 full-time students and Kingston College.

● Kingston University: Kingston University is a top 10 London University with 14,047 home/EU students, and 2,452 overseas students from over 140 countries.14,654 students are full time while 2,131 study part time (Kingston University Prospectus, December 2019).

● Kingston College: Kingston College is a major provider of Full Time, Apprenticeships, Part Time and Undergraduate courses in Kingston upon Thames with over 9,000 total enrollment.

To attract a greater proportion of skilled talent in the borough or retain qualified research and creative minds post-graduation, investment in arts and cultural provisions that meet the needs and expectations of these groups will come a long way in bridging the current deficit.

Figure 6. Full-time Students (NS-SeC)*

PS: People over 16 who are engaged in full-time courses of study in secondary, tertiary or higher education institutions.

Projection implications

The projected increase, in the size of the population in Kingston, together with the changing demographics within the overall increase, will place increasing pressure on a range of cultural services. This will be exacerbated in areas where house building will be significant. It will therefore be necessary to consider whether the Borough’s existing culture infrastructure can support the expected increase in demand and projected changes in the local population.

The London Plan (Draft London Plan, 2019) requires Kingston Borough to accommodate 13,640 new homes and 5,000 new jobs over the next 10 years. The population is expected to grow by over 22,900 to 201,600 over the next 10 years. Together with the necessary accommodation, health and educational infrastructure, it would be desirable that these new and existing communities are adequately provided with appropriate cultural facilities.

However, since the advent of the financial crisis there has been a lack of investment and improvements in cultural assets. Kingston Council is, therefore, keen to address this situation and ensure that cultural assets facilities are developed to meet specific needs where there is evidence of under-provision and to plan to meet the needs of the growing and changing population of the borough.

An audit of all current cultural provision in the borough was undertaken to establish the level and nature of supply, the findings of which are detailed in the following maps.

The objective of the mapping exercise has been to prioritise needs to inform the Council’s strategic priorities for investment in culture and leisure over the next 5 to 10 years, and to help ensure that any investment is directed towards areas of greatest need and greatest benefit.

This process will help identify parts of the Borough without access to facilities, as well as opportunities for rationalisation.

POPULATION SEGMENTATION

Knowing which segments are most dominant in the local population can help direct provision and programming. This is not to imply that the needs of smaller segments of the population can be ignored. A number of data sources are available to understand the local population. These include: ‘socio-economic categories’, ‘MOSAIC Segmentation Model’ data and the ‘Audience Spectrum Segmentation Model’. These data sources categories residents in different ways, based on different factors including income, shopping habits, educational attainment and so on.

Socio-economic categories: The Socio-economic categories, or NRS social grades are a system of demographic classification developed over 50 years ago. The classification went on to achieve widespread usage in 20th Century Britain even though they were originally developed to classify readers. They have widespread applications and have become a standard for market research and their definition is now maintained by the Market Research Society. The data here divides up residents into four categories, shown in the table and charts below. The data for the borough shows that Kingston has a below national average and indeed below London average percentage of residents classified as C2DE social category (28.5% of the Borough’s population compared to the national average of 46.5% and London average of 37.5%). These groups (C2DE) have a lower propensity to attend arts and cultural performances, as well as participate in leisure activities. Availability of lower cost cultural activities will therefore be important in engaging with these groups. Table 4. NRS Socio-economic Classification Categories Grade Social class Chief income earner's occupation

A upper middle class Higher managerial, administrative or professional

B middle class Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional

C1 lower middle class Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional

C2 skilled working class Skilled manual workers

D working class Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers

E non working State pensioners, casual workers, unemployed with state benefits only

Source: ONS

Audience Spectrum Segmentation Model

Audience Spectrum is a population profiling tool which describes attendance, participation and engagement with the arts, museums and heritage, as well as behaviours, attitudes and preferences towards such organisations. It has been built to meet the needs of small and large scale, ticketed and non-ticketed organisations from across the cultural sector. There are two Key measures of demand for cultural activities: participation and frequency of participation, otherwise referred to as engagement. Table 5. Audience Spectrum Segmentation for Kingston

Audience Spectrum Segments (Adults 15+)

Description Dormito Face Trips Kaleidosc Metro Commuter-land Experienc ry Home & Up Our book Heyday & ope culturals Culture-buffs e Seekers Depend Heritage Street Famil s Treats Creativity ables ies

South Lane, New Malden 5% 36% 7% 25% 0% 4% 3% 0% 20% 1%

Old Malden, Worcester 1% 40% 12% 33% 0% 10% 2% 0% 1% 0% Park

Central Road, Worcester 3% 13% 15% 52% 1% 9% 2% 1% 7% 0% Park

Raeburn Avenue, 4% 26% 6% 26% 0% 8% 1% 0% 28% 0% Surbiton

Surbiton (Incl Ditton Hill) 19% 23% 37% 12% 1% 3% 1% 3% 0% 0%

Southborough, Surbiton 47% 15% 34% 1% 0% 0% 2% 0% 1% 0%

Tolworth 9% 5% 17% 26% 1% 0% 2% 1% 38% 0%

Hook Road, Hook 0% 8% 7% 51% 11% 9% 0% 6% 8% 0%

Leatherhead, 0% 6% 10% 58% 9% 3% 1% 9% 4% 1% Chessington

Ashley Park, Kingston 10% 33% 47% 5% 0% 5% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Burwood Park, Kingston 0% 48% 7% 36% 2% 2% 4% 0% 0% 0%

Kingston Overall 9% 23% 18% 30% 2% 5% 2% 2% 10% 0% Source: Audience Spectrum, ACE, GLA

Audience Spectrum assigns one of ten segments to each UK household, based on likely engagement with and preferences towards arts, museums and heritage. For Kingston, the top five segments are the so-called groups: ‘Dormitory dependables’, ‘Commuter-land culture buffs’, ‘Experience Seekers’, ‘Kaleidoscope Creativity’ and ‘Metro-culturals’.

Audience Spectrum segment descriptions

Metro-culturals (High cultural engagement)

9% of Kingston’s residents are classified as being in this category. The area with most ‘Metro- culturals’ is Southborough in Surbiton with 47% of residents classified as belonging to this category. Prosperous, liberal urbanites, Metroculturals choose a city lifestyle for the broad cultural opportunity it affords. They are therefore interested in a very wide spectrum of activity, but many tend towards their own preferred art form or style. Although active museum attenders, more engage with the arts and many on a weekly basis. Working in demanding but rewarding professions, they are highly educated and have a wide variety of other interests from food and travel to current affairs and architecture.

Commuter-land Culture-buffs (High cultural engagement)

‘Commuter-land Culture-buffs’ make up 23% of the Kingston population. Old Malden, South Lane, Ashley Park and Burwood Park all have over 35% of residents of this category. Affluent and settled with many working in higher managerial and professional occupations. Commuterland Culture buffs are keen consumers of culture, with broad tastes but a leaning towards heritage and more classical offerings. Mature families or retirees, living largely in leafy provincial suburban or greenbelt comfort, they are willing to travel and pay for premium experiences, their habits perhaps influenced by commuting. Motivations are multiple, ranging from social and self-improvement, to the pursuit of learning opportunities for older children. They tend to be frequent attenders and potential donors.

Experience Seekers (High cultural engagement)

Experience Seekers make up 18% of the Kingston population. Surbiton, Southborough and Ashley Park, all have over 30% of residents of this category. An important and significant part of urban arts audiences, these highly active, diverse, social and ambitious singles and couples are younger people engaging with the arts on a regular basis. Students, recent graduates and in the early to mid-stages of their careers, they live close to city centres, have easy access to and attend a wide variety of arts, museums galleries and heritage. Interests cover mainstream, contemporary and culturally diverse offers and attending is at the heart of their social lives. They are mostly in search of new things to do and have disposable income to spend on a variety of leisure activities like sports/arts memberships and frequent visits to cafes, bars and restaurants. Digitally savvy, they will share experiences through social media on their smartphones.

Dormitory Dependables (Medium cultural engagement)

30% of Kingston residents are in this category with Central Road (Worcester Park), Hook Road and Leatherhead (Chessington) all with over 50% of residents of this category.

A significant proportion of audiences are made up of this dependably regular if not frequently engaging group. Most live in suburban or small towns and show a preference for heritage activities, alongside popular and more traditional, mainstream arts. Many are thriving well off mature couples or busy older families; lifestage coupled with more limited access to an extensive cultural offer mean that culture is more an occasional treat or family outing than an integral part of their lifestyle.

Kaleidoscope Creativity (Low engagement)

10% of Kingston’s population are of this category. Tolworth, Raeburn Avenue and South Lane’s residents have over 25% of residents of this category. Characterised by low levels of cultural engagement despite living in and around city areas where plenty of opportunities are within easy reach. A great mix of people comprise this segment with a wide range of ages, living circumstances, resources and cultural backgrounds all living cheek-by- jowl. Low incomes and unemployment can present barriers to accessing some cultural provision. Nevertheless, two thirds do engage with more popular and accessible culture annually, some of this in the local community and outside the mainstream. Free, local events like outdoor arts, festivals and carnivals may appeal, and so might popular offerings like musicals and music events.

Trips & Treats (Medium engagement)

While this group may not view arts and culture as a passion, they are reasonably active despite being particularly busy with a wide range of leisure interests. Comfortably off and living in the heart of suburbia their children range in ages, and include young people still living at home. With a strong preference for mainstream arts and popular culture like musicals and familiar drama, mixed in with days out to museums and heritage sites, this group are led by their children’s interests and strongly influenced by friends and family.

Home & Heritage (Medium engagement)

Conservative in their tastes, this more mature group appreciates all things traditional: a large proportion are National Trust members, while classical music and amateur dramatics are comparatively popular. While this is not a highly engaged group – partly because they are largely to be found in rural areas and small towns – they do engage with the cultural activity available to them in their locality. They look for activities to match their needs and interests, such as accessible day-time activities or content exploring historical events.

Up Our Street (Low engagement)

Living reasonably comfortable and stable lives, Up Our Street engage with popular arts and entertainment and museums, and are also visitors of heritage sites. Many are older and have some health issues, living on average or below average household incomes, so access in all its forms can be an issue. Modest in their habits and in their means, value for money and low-risk are important factors in leisure decision making.

Facebook Families (Low engagement)

Arts and culture play a very small role in the lives of this younger, cash-strapped group living in suburban and semi-urban areas of high unemployment. They are the least likely to think of themselves as arty, while less than a third believe that the arts is important. Nevertheless, they do go out as families: cinema, live music, eating out and pantomime. The arts activities with the highest levels of engagement are: Cinema, theatre, plays and concert.

Arts and Cultural Attendance

For Kingston residents, attendance at cinema, theatre, plays, rock/popular concert, art gallery and museums is highest of any other art form with all achieving over 35% attendance over the last 12 months.

Table 6. Kingston Residents Arts and Cultural Attendance in the past 12 months

Event Attended in the past 12 month Kingston Overall

Art galleries 39%

Art gallery once a month or more 2%

Ballet 16%

Classical concerts 21%

Contemporary dance 9%

Jazz concerts 13%

Opera 14%

Plays 45%

Popular/rock concert 45%

Theatre 61%

Theatre once a month or more 4%

Museums 39%

Archaeological sites 8%

Stately homes/ castles 28%

Ever go to the cinema 84%

Go every two or three months 19%

Go once or more a month 17%

Never go 16% Source: Target Group Index Survey, ACE

The results of the analyses indicate that Kingston engagement and attendance in arts and culture is comparatively higher than that seen in London and that taking place across England in general. Table 7. Comparison of Arts and Cultural Attendance (2016) - Last 12 months Kingston Event London England

Count (%) Count ( %)

Art gallery 33,941 39% 2,359,784 34% 12,555,043 27%

Art gallery once a month or more 1,947 2% 267,824 4% 676,526 1%

Ballet 13,175 16% 1,123,282 16% 4,970,037 11%

Classical Concert 18,388 21% 1,180,248 17% 6,402,365 14%

Comedy Show - - 1,735,062 25% 10,778,656 24%

Contemporary Dance 7,657 9% 936,727 13% 3,678,922 8%

Jazz Concert 11,134 13% 1,100,762 16% 4,430,226 10%

Opera 11,894 14% 1,105,502 16% 4,494,254 10%

Plays 38,870 45% 2,595,710 37% 15,603,171 34%

Popular Rock/Concert 40,249 45% 2,706,225 38% 17,364,265 38%

Theatre 53,589 61% 3,590,235 51% 20,947,160 46%

Theatre once a month or more 3,426 4% 565,050 8% 1,352,868 3%

Museums 34,958 39% 2,911,389 41% 13,409,493 29%

Archeological sites 7,173 8% 459,083 7% 2,960,195 6%

Stately Homes/Castles 24,920 28% 1,741,954 25% 9,838,513 22%

Adults 15+ estimate 2016 Source: Target Group Index Survey, ACE

SUPPLY ANALYSIS Overview of current provisions Over 160 cultural infrastructure assets have been identified across Kingston upon Thames. While there is a good spread of art and culture facilities throughout the Borough, the bulk of these is concentrated in and around Grove and Kingston Town Centre with Surbiton area coming a distant second. These facilities are listed on the following maps:

In the absence of a guiding demand model, our analysis has been informed by the research methodology approach introduced in Section 4. This includes a review of facilities provisions and availability relative to Kingston’s CIPFA ‘nearest neighbours’ when available, reference to competing arts and culture venues in neighbouring boroughs and Central London, emerging market trends and experts views.

Overall however, with the exception of libraries and a handful of entertainment venues, it is not possible to determine a numerical figure reflecting need according to a number of facilities. This analysis therefore draws on a range of research findings and experts interviews to form a picture of need for these facilities within Kingston. For instance, based on our residents segmentation data we are able to estimate the type of cultural activities that Kingston residents are likely to take part in. Indeed past figures suggest that Kingston residents have the highest propensity to attend cinema, theatre, plays, rock/popular concert, art gallery and museums.

We have audited and mapped Kingston’s arts and cultural venues. For quite some time, Kingston, and indeed national cultural infrastructure, has been under increasing financial pressure.

Adverse policy and economic conditions, which often exist together and multiply burdens on cultural places and the organisations operating there have led to a shortage of premises, business closures and unstable market environment. To be able to address these negative trends, one must retain and develop more premises where culture and creative outputs are produced or take place.

These adverse underlying conditions can broadly be set out in the following categories (Mayor of London Culture Infrastructure Plan, A Call to Action, March 2019) which often overlap and worsen the underlying issues:

● Land value increases ● National planning system ● Business rate increases ● Licensing restrictions ● Funding reductions

Kingston Libraries

Kingston Libraries and Community Centres

Kingston Libraries

Kingston libraries are dynamic community hubs. They serve as focal points in lifelong learning, community education where parents and children come together to forge friendships while seniors develop shared experiences in book clubs, board games playing or learn how to use new technologies.

Kingston has 7 branch libraries and 1 mobile community library which offers an outreach service. They vary in size and offer, for example, Hook and Chessington is a 'community hub' where the building shares space with a cafe, community centre and the Kingston Music Service. Similar sized branches are spread throughout the borough in Kingston, Surbiton and New Malden. Two of the borough's smallest branch libraries, Old Malden and Tudor Drive, buck national trends and regularly surpass their monthly visitor targets.

For 2018/19, Kingston libraries received 550,245 physical visits with 637,955 books issued over the same period. While increasingly online engagement via digital and social media and the issuing of e-resources are becoming prominent, Kingston libraries usage as community hubs continues apace. Over the course of 2018/19, this translated into 2,165 individual events being provided by the service across the borough. These events range from events tailored to adults, children and those targeting ICT literacy.

While Kingston-upon-Thames has one of the lowest numbers of libraries of all CIPFA’s 16 statistical neighbours, it is also the smallest of the 16 local authorities.

Though all the Kingston seven libraries are located within 30 minute drive-time of the borough households, many of the elderly or those with long-term disability rely on the mobile community library.

Facility deficits and library needs we have identified are listed as follows:

● Mobile library capacity in line with the projected increase of the aging population. The mobile provision is underprovided with only one full-time employee with the rest being part-time volunteers. There is a lack of back-up provisions and worker replacement for holiday times or time of illness.

Kingston Cultural Assets Venues

(Music venues, Dance performance Venues, Theatres, Entertainment venues, Community Centres, Cinemas and Skate parks)

Most asset venues are concentrated in Grove and around Kingston Town Centre and around Surbiton High Street. For instance, outside these we have identified only one performance venue located South of the Borough in Chessington. Increasing pressure on local authority funding and public subsidy to the arts and culture has led to art venues having to continuously re-invent themselves to survive. Often this has meant adopting a commercial approach to stay afloat, which at times, goes against the public benefit or social impact focus. Kingston arts and culture centres work closely with the voluntary sector and Kingston Council, who are often their principal funders. As the Council finances deteriorate and government funding decline, arts and culture venues have struggled to continue fulfilling their social remits.

Theatre The Rose Theatre Situated at the heart of Kingston within easy accessibility of much of South West London, the Rose opened its doors in January 2008 and offers a wide range of performances to the entire region. The Rose serves more than a million people who live and work in the region and offers a rich programme of artistic activity, for people from all backgrounds and tastes.

The Rose’s auditorium has a capacity of up to 900 people and boasts of a Gallery characterised by its light and airy space on the second floor of the venue suitable for meetings, presentations, receptions and corporate events. The Rose produces a large number of works in drama, theatre and concerts supplemented by occasional comedy events. In addition to its productions, the Rose undertakes a high-quality learning and participation programme, educating the people of all ages and backgrounds in various aspects of dramatic art, nurturing emerging talent, and serving as a cultural hub for communities in Kingston and beyond.

The Corner House The Corner House Community Arts Centre is a theatre community for the people of Tolworth, Surbiton and the surrounding areas created in 1995 through a conversion of an existing church hall. The theatre space has showcased a wide range of drama, dance and music from visiting professional companies to that of its own in-house groups. It is run entirely by volunteers and the theatre space is one of the few places in London where many well-known comedians and others perform their pre-tour shows.

Banquet Records Kingston-based Banquet Records does more than just stock the week’s new releases. The owners love every aspect of music, and in addition to selling records, Banquet puts on shows, clubs nights, in-store gigs and it is loved back by its fans who often queue for long hours to attend any of its exclusive concerts and music events. Banquet sells vinyl and more from the worlds of indie, punk- rock, and modern dance music, as well as soundtracks and re-issues of classics. As well as being a record shop, Banquet is a concert and clubs promoter, putting on 200 events a year in and around Kingston.

Cinema ODEON ODEON Kingston at the Rotunda Centre, is a 15 state of the art screens, and largest ODEON in London, and a great place to escape reality in a magical movie. It is highly popular and well attended and also fits well with its complementary leisure and dining facilities. While Cinema has been identified as one of the most popular cultural activity in Kingston cutting across many segments, the soon to be launched four-screen CURZON Cinema at Bentall Centre is likely to fulfil the current gap for an alternative to Rotunda’s ODEON.

Facility deficits needs and gaps we have identified are listed as follows:

● As highlighted on the map, a rehearsal space in the areas in Maldens and Coombe Neighbourhood would provide a much needed provision for emerging artists, specialist theatre companies and for skills development. The venue would also alleviate the pressure on a number of Kingston’s improvised studios and under-equipped make-shift boy-scout centres while providing opportunities to engage with local young people and community groups.

● As indicated earlier, Kingston is host to one of the UK largest Universities (Kingston University) in addition to Kingston College. The borough is also home to a large group of young professionals working commuting daily outside the borough. This profile provides would provide a solid platform for an indie gig style standing venue to appeal to this large and young crowd that tend to migrate to Central London on week-ends. Developing a venue of this nature would have the potential to meet an identified gap in the market and help to market Kingston to creative talents and prospective graduates that would otherwise migrate to Central London. It would also draw from a 30-minute drive time from Kingston which is currently a sizeable and viable catchment.

Kingston Creative Workspaces

The majority of enterprises in the creative industries are micro businesses employing fewer than 10 people. A significant proportion of workers in the creative industries are self-employed - 35% of the sector’s workforce compared to 15% across the UK economy. The high number of micro businesses in the sector reflects the dynamic, lean nature of much of the creative industries. The sector consists of an average number of 3 employees, with most consisting of a core team with freelancers contracted to provide specific skills, services, and products where needed. Creative enterprises tend to cluster together to share resources, knowledge and freelancers.

The creative industries are the fastest growing part of the UK economy. Their contribution to innovation, exports, and job creation is significant. The sector is recognised as world-leading in cutting-edge creative tech, exports more than £40 billion in goods and services, and has created jobs at double the rate of the UK’s average job growth. Having identified the creative industries as a key growth sector, a number of local governments particularly those close to higher education and research institutions, have introduced tailored programmes to enhance this growth.

This is often achieved by working in partnership with universities and businesses in their area, and leveraging investment outside of what is received from the central government

The 12 creative enterprises include:

● Advertising and Marketing; ● Publishing; ● Architecture; ● Museums, Galleries and Libraries; ● Crafts; ● Music, Performing and Visual Arts; ● Design (Product, Graphic, Fashion); ● Animation and VFX/SFX (Visual and Special Effects); ● Film, TV, Video, Radio and Photography; ● Video, Games; ● IT, Software and Computer Services; and ● Heritage

Kingston’s creative enterprises are still few and most are concentrated in and around Kingston Town Centre and Grove in general.

While creative businesses share some challenges with other SMEs outside the sector, they also face challenges specific to the creative sector, many revolving around funding, space availability and Intellectual Property (IP) which is the bread and butter of their outputs.

Policy deficits or gaps pertaining to creative workspaces we have identified are listed as follows:

● Support to develop a Kingston creative cluster by coordinating and setting up the right environment for creative enterprise growth including fiscal incentives, partnership with Kingston University to help unlock growth. ● Work with local property developers, landlords and heritage bodies to develop proposals that use existing premises – especially those that are underused - to create affordable and flexible co-working spaces for creative enterprises.

Kingston Public Art & Heritage at Risk

Kingston Heritage – Listed Buildings

Kingston Pubs & Bars

The increasing loss of valued local pubs and bar venues and other cultural infrastructure and the issues putting these places at risk have been widely publicised. Increasing rent and business rates, licensing changes, redevelopment and other issues can quickly result in cultural organisations becoming destabilised.

While planning policy and legislation can be potent tools to support the retention of cultural infrastructure, it can also work against it. Permitted development rights have allowed a greater range of uses to be converted without the need for permission. This has had a clear negative impact on Kingston pubs having placed increased pressure on “the bottom line” contributing directly to their loss.

Although premises mainly used as pubs will be eligible for the government’s new retail relief for 2019-20 and 2020-21 — which offers a one third business rates discount to eligible properties with a rateable value below £51,000 — other cultural infrastructure such as music venues are not similarly eligible under the guidance.

Policy deficits or gaps pertaining to pubs that we have identified are listed as follows:

● To protect existing uses and against further losses, a joined up approach that would help reduce commercial risks for cultural tenants via affordable rents level for instance or business rate relief where appropriate should be considered.

APPENDIX 1 – DEMOGRAPHIC MAPS

Projected Change (2019 - 2031)

APPENDIX 2: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arts Council England, 2005. “New Audiences for the Arts” Arts Council England, 2006. “Navigating Difference: Cultural Diversity and Audience Development”

Audience Agency Profiling, “A National Report (2014 – 2016)

Brown, M., 2001. “Leading or Being Led by the Young into Later Arts Participation”(University of New South Wales)

Burton, T., 1971. “Experiments in Recreation Research”

DCMS, 2005. “Department for Culture, Media and Sport Five Year Plan: Living Life to the Full”, DCMS, 2005.

DCMS, 2006. “‘Taking Part’: The National Survey of Culture, Leisure & Sport” Creative Industries Federation, “Growing the UK’s Creative Industries”, 2018

London Culture Infrastructure Plan, “A Call to Action”, 2019

MLA, 2001. “Arts in England: Attendance, Participation and Attitudes in 2001”

DCMS, Participation and engagement in cultural activities, “Analysis of Taking Part Survey”, Aug 2011

National Planning Policy Framework, February 2019

Taking Part Survey, “Adult Report”, 2018 – 2019

ACE, Arts Audience Insight, 2008

The Audience Agency, “Audience Agency Profiling, 2017”

DCMS, “Barriers to Participation” August 2010

Draft London Plan, July 2019