VIDEO: Havering London Secures £1.6M For A New Cultural Strategy.

Havering London, a new cultural and place making organisation, has secured £1.6m of investment to bring to life Havering’s new Cultural Strategy, ‘A Good Life’. This funding supports a three-year programme from April 2025, shaping Havering as a vibrant cultural place.

This programme will be catalysed by £500,000 of National Lottery Place Partnership funding from Arts Council England, enabling new partnerships and innovative ways of working to meet the borough’s cultural needs, and £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, celebrating and promoting Havering’s diverse heritage.

A fundraising initiative to secure public and private sector support for ‘A Good Life’ was launched in March 2024, following the campaign to become London Borough of Culture. This initiative builds on the momentum of 50 organisations and 1,000 members of the public who collaborated to develop the bid.

‘A Good Life’ is a bold strategy to grow Havering’s cultural landscape, empowering communities to shape a vibrant and equitable cultural life. By placing local people at the heart of decision-making, it fosters wellbeing and belonging. Through participatory initiatives, networks, and co-designed programmes, residents will gain the skills and opportunities to influence the borough’s creative future.

At the heart of ‘A Good Life’ are 30 projects structured around four key themes:

• Havering: Unearthed – Celebrating and promoting the borough’s diverse history through a new heritage trail, a landmark public event in Romford market, an immersive club culture archive, and a Heritage Projects Officer to help build crucial capacity (supported by Historic England).
• Havering: Common Ground – Establishing a new network of community venues with refreshed facilities to enable shared programming, new community celebrations, public art and craft exhibitions.
• Havering: Empowered – Nurturing creative talent by establishing a new artist studio, skills development programme, and an innovative digital website.
• Havering: Thriving – Embedding culture in wellbeing through artist-led health initiatives, a green-focused public talks programme, environmental activism, and creative projects by Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists.

Whilst £1.6m has been secured to date, Havering London is now launching the Cultural Investment Fund as part of raising a further £800,000. This initiative invites local businesses and philanthropists to contribute towards match funding for artists and organisations, further strengthening Havering’s cultural ecosystem.

Central to ‘A Good Life’ is the newly formed People’s Panel, comprising 20 dedicated residents who will collaborate with the Partnership Panel of organisations delivering the programme. Key partners include Creative Health Havering, Fuse (Local Cultural Education Partnership), Havering Changing, Havering Museum, London Borough of Havering, New City College, Romford BID, and the Centre for Performance, Technology, and Equity (PTEQ) at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Dr David Shearing and Mathew Russell, Directors of Havering London, told the Havering Daily:
“We are immensely proud of the collaborative efforts that have brought this historic investment to Havering. The funding will enable a step change in cultural provision, ensuring the people of Havering can access and contribute to a thriving cultural life.”

Dr David Shearing- one of Havering London Directors.

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.