Supporting the cultural offer in England’s towns

The role of culture in regeneration is well understood by policy makers and practitioners. In recent years, however, culture-led regeneration, along with other policies relating to place, has been challenged on the basis that cultural opportunity is not equally distributed and this has penalised certain types of places, restricting their potential to benefit from culture and its contribution to regeneration. This challenge has focused in particular on towns, as places seen as being ‘left behind’ by policy makers’ attention and excluded from the benefits of growth and regeneration. This paper explores policy opportunities and recent practice relating to culture in towns and identifies some challenges to be addressed if culture is to make a substantial contribution to the renewal of towns in England.