£300m plan for North East culture to be launched in Parliament

Ambitious plans to raise an extra £200 million for culture and the arts in the North East are to be launched in the House of Commons.Senior figures from the region’s cultural bodies are to join MPs, councillors and business leaders to launch a 15-year plan designed to ensure an extra 500,000 people a year in the North East participate in culture, such as visiting libraries and museums or attending events.The strategy, called the Case for Culture, sets out plans to ensure every young person in the region has regular access to a cultural experience as part of their education at primary and secondary school.And it calls for increased investment in arts and culture in the region, up from £100 million today, from bodies such as the Arts Council or the Heritage Lottery Fund, to £300 million in five years time.The plan’s supporters argue that it will boost the economy – by creating 70,000 jobs in the creative industries sector in the North East and by making the region a more attractive place to live and work.The strategy has been drawn up by the North East Culture Partnership, chaired by John Mowbray, a former Director at Northumbrian Water and ex-president of the North East Chamber of Commerce, and David Budd, mayor of Middlesbrough.