Policy WS/CH: Cultural and creative hubs

1. A cultural/creative hub consists of a space which brings together a mix of cultural activities and, or creative artists or creative/cultural organisations (public or commercial) that facilitate the following: 

  a. affordable creative workspace; 

  b. learning infrastructure; 

  c. networking and collaborative spaces; 

  d. affordable temporary accommodation for visiting artists attached to the hub (subject to local amenity); 

  e. cultural attractions; and 

  f. skills, networking and business support programmes for cultural activities. 

2.

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

proposals for new cultural/creative hubs within designated centres, as shown on the Policies Map, will be supported where it is demonstrated that: 

  g. the proposed cultural/creative hub will provide and support most of the criteria listed in paragraph 1 above, appropriately located within the centre to support its ongoing operation; 

  h. the proposed cultural/creative hub will complement the retail function of the centre, and maintain or add to the vitality, viability and diversity of the centre; 

  i. on-site infrastructure will include hosting workspaces, studios and, or cultural institutions; 

  j. on-site activities will support evening/nighttime economy uses, public realm interventions, visual identity, collaborative working, place branding, promotion and community engagement; 

  k. proposals improve and complement rather than duplicate cultural infrastructure provision and avoid competing or adversely impacting existing cultural/creative hubs, districts or quarters; and 

  l. the proposed cultural/creative hub has a Management Strategy to ensure it will be viable over the long-term. This should outline, as a minimum its long-term vision, objectives, market sector within the wider cultural/creative market and financial resourcing.

The

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

Cultural

Includes transport, energy, water, waste, digital/smart, social and green infrastructure.

Strategy identifies the area’s cultural and creative industries as a major and growing economic force, employing approximately 14,000 people. This makes up 8.5% of total employment in the sub-region.

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

is therefore considered to be a Creative

Concentrations of companies in related activities, recognisable suppliers, service providers and institutions, which are cooperating, competing and collaborating to build competitive advantage, often across traditional sector boundaries. Such concentrations often depend on access to specialist skills and infrastructure within a specific area.

consisting of many cultural/creative hubs/districts. The area is also currently home to 9 Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations, organisations considered by Arts Council England to be regionally or nationally significant for their cultural output, strategic role or value to their local communities. 

The strategy also highlights the many benefits derived from culture including those related to improving everyday health and place-making. Social prescribing has become an established method of preventative care through the physical and mental health benefits of participating in culture with other people. 

Spaces that allow cultural activities to happen on a permanent or transitory basis. Examples include: a gallery, a village hall, an arts centre, a bespoke high-end film studio, a workshop on an old farm, a museum, a pop-up space in a vacant shopping unit, a public house, a theatre, a cinema and a park used annually for a festival.

within new and existing developments not only enhances the social fabric of areas but also contributes to long-term value creation, attracting investment and fostering sustainable growth. Beyond the standard economic benefits of other industry clusters, creative clusters are attractive for the wider benefits they can bring to places, supporting high levels of cultural activity, the evening and nighttime economy and an area’s sense of place that help these spaces become more attractive to live, visit or set up a business. 

Any proposal for a new cultural/creative hub within designated centres should be able to clearly demonstrate suitable capacity to bring together and support an ecosystem of cultural activities and, or creative artists or creative/cultural organisations (public or commercial). To act as a genuine cultural/creative hub, they should feature/host a mix of: affordable creative workspace; learning infrastructure; networking and collaborative spaces; affordable accommodation, live/workspace or affordable temporary accommodation for visiting artists; cultural attractions; and skills, networking and business support programmes. Examples include: an arts centre, a performance venue, a national and, or internationally recognised museum, a creative workspace space supporting creative businesses/artist workspaces or a community centre that supports cultural activities within the community. Increasingly, cultural infrastructure can be found in less traditional spaces, for example, public houses that provide performance venues with regular events; churches that provide space for community workshops; parks that host festivals; and offices that provide artist studios.

Areas with more than one cultural/creative hub – close enough to form interrelated links/activities/trips – would form a cultural/creative district. These may include several public-facing educational institutions such as art colleges and, or schools, related to cultural and creative industries; or spaces providing and supporting cultural activities including museums, theatres and other event performance spaces. 

The scale of these districts can vary, from individual streets with high levels of cultural activity to larger mixed use regeneration schemes, to large parts of a city, to form a cultural quarter. To act as a genuine cultural/creative district, they should feature/host most of the following: workspaces and studios; cultural institutions; evening/nighttime economy uses; public realm interventions and visual identity; formal/ informal collaboration networks; place branding & promotion; and community engagement. 

Areas with a high concentration of cultural spaces providing a broad range of cultural activities, including space for the evening and night-time economy – especially those performing an important sub-regional function – would normally be regarded as a Cultural Quarter. In Cambridge, this would comprise of the city centre’s historic central area including the proposed Civic Quarter, centred around the market area and the surrounding cultural performance spaces including the Corn Exchange along Wheeler Street, the Arts Theatre and those entertainment/performance venues/spaces in and around Trinity Street, the museums along Free School Lane and Pembroke Street, Market Passage and Sidney Street. 

Other cultural hubs and districts across the area also make an important contribution to the area’s cultural and economic performance, by hosting a mix of public, social and private enterprises. They can also bring a unique dynamic to an area, fostering and supporting placemaking. Consequently, these cultural hubs and districts can help to develop and support the area’s high streets by adapting their appeal to changing retail and leisure trends. 

Town centres need to be able to offer people and businesses something of interest that the internet alone cannot provide. This might include the co-location and collaboration of cultural providers and associated businesses. The space requirements for digital creative businesses often includes smaller office spaces which can be accommodated on upper floors above shops, close to larger cultural venues. Aside from attracting more employment opportunities into these centres, they are also a compatible use in area’s that host many evening/night-time venues which are often a source of noise from people visiting the area. 

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

: Topic Paper: Wellbeing and Social Inclusion

We will consider all comments while developing the next version of the

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

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All comments must be received by 30 January 2026 at 5pm.