Arts Council England are the national development agency for creativity and culture. They have set out their strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. They invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and deliver this vision.
APS is a strategic alliance between local authorities in Surrey which enables greater art projects to take place. This is realised through the delivery of vibrant community-led arts to improve the lives of local people on an annual basis. APS has valuable community links and a track record of delivering high quality art projects in the county. Members include arts officers and those with a responsibility for arts and culture in Surrey. Arts Partnership Surrey’s current priorities:
Brentford Community Sports Trust
The Trust’s work spans more than three decades, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has established itself as a pioneering organisation for the local community. It uses the power of sport to educate, motivate and inspire young people from all backgrounds.
Working in partnership with Brentford FC, the Trust delivers a range of programmes in education, employability, sports participation, health and community engagement.
The Crafts Council believe craft skills and knowledge enrich and uplift us as individuals and can change our world for the better.
The River Thames Scheme (RTS) will reduce the risk of flooding to thousands of homes, businesses and vital infrastructure. It will create new areas of green open space with recreational facilities and connections to wildlife. It will also provide sustainable travel connections to link communities together.
The RTS covers an area from Egham to Teddington. The area surrounding this stretch of river and its lakes is diverse. It has been shaped by large construction works including major roads and extensive mineral working. It includes flood plain, heritage landscape, rich natural habitats, housing and businesses and historical and active landfill.
The RTS represents a new landscape-based approach to creating healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable communities. The RTS will be an integrated scheme which responds to the challenges of flooding; creating more access to green open spaces and sustainable travel routes, in addition to encouraging inclusive economic growth, increasing biodiversity and responding to the dual challenges of climate change and nature recovery.
Following the recent development of Shepperton Studios it is now the largest accessible film studio in the Western World. Shepperton Studios have been home for maverick and independent film production for nearly 90 years. Owned by a succession of famous brothers – the Kordas, the Boultings, the Lees and the Scotts, as well as rock band The Who, some of the cinemas most successful films from, Oliver! to Alien, have been made at the Studios.
With Studio expansions in Shepperton and Toronto Studios, as well as an annual Futures Festival, we’re setting up for the future.
Pinewood Group now lives at three Studios, two in the UK and one in Canada, the likes of Disney, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Amazon, MGM Studios and Netflix have leased stages to create many of their stories. And we’ve got many more to tell.
Sport England invest in sport and physical activity to make it a normal part of life for everyone in England, regardless of who you are. Because it’s not always a level playing field. Right now, the opportunities to get involved in sport and activity – and reap the rewards of being active – depend too much on your background, your gender, your bank balance and your postcode.
Sport England are determined to tackle this and unlock the advantages of sport and physical activity for everyone. This isn’t just about Sport England’s long-standing purpose of helping more people to enjoy playing sport and being physically active.
They believe that by removing existing barriers to sport and activity, they can be part of a bigger picture of work that helps to address many of society’s biggest challenges.
A new place-based partnership, including Surrey County Council, Spelthorne Borough Council, Ashford Youth Club and Artswork, have been successful in securing £399,000 from Arts Council England towards a new ‘Culture Hub’ in Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey.
The two-year project aims to bridge the gap between creative education and employment in the area and create a step change in how young people design, engage with, work in and enjoy culture in the community.
Using Staines’ new flagship Surrey County Council library, which is set to open in Summer 2025, the Staines Culture Hub, will establish a programme of creative activities and performances, in partnership with a wide range of organisations. The programme will provide accessible pathways into the arts, support improved wellbeing and contribute to the cultural, social and economic growth in the area.
SCYP are a registered charity that works in Surrey and the South London boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Kingston, Richmond & Croydon. Their mission is to ensure that young people can access exciting and challenging opportunities that will support them to develop into active and confident young adults.
SCYP believe that young people have the potential to make a positive contribution to their community, and to continue that throughout their lives.
Their vision is a society where young people are recognised for their potential and are engaged, supported and developed in order to achieve it.
Their volunteers, staff and trustees believe in supporting and equipping local communities to respond to the needs of their young people and to facilitate young people’s participation in decision making.
They support a large network of youth clubs and projects, and provide a programme of exciting and high quality activities for young people.
Surrey County Council (SCC) Services:
Established in 1999, Active Surrey is a not for profit organisation, hosted by Surrey County Council. They are one of Sport England's network of System Partners, also supported by a range of partners locally and nationally.
Active Surrey have been fundamental partners in the delivery of Specsavers Surrey Youth Games over a number of years and the legacy initiatives that are being discussed currently following the withdrawal of funding by a number of local authorities.
Working in Partnership with Spelthorne Borough Council they are currently awaiting the outcome of a funding bid to Sport England’s Priority Place initiative that identified Stanwell North, Stanwell South and Ashford North as the only place in Surrey eligible for investment.
Culture Box Surrey (CBS) is Surrey’s Local Cultural Education Partnership led by Surrey Arts, their mission is to provide children and young people in Surrey with high-quality, inspiring arts and cultural learning experiences both in and out of school. They are committed to ensuring that every child and young person in Surrey has the opportunity to participate in these experiences, and that their voices are heard when planning the future artistic and cultural landscape of the county.
SCCs Library & Cultural Services Strategy 2020-25 commits to retaining all 52 of the county’s libraries. It is the 2nd busiest library service in the country.
A multi-million pound investment into Surrey's libraries was approved by Surrey County Council’s Cabinet to modernise services and create flexible, innovative and inclusive spaces. The investment was agreed to revolutionise the libraries offer and ensure they are all fit for the future.
The first phase of this work focussed on key libraries including Epsom, Redhill, Staines, Woking and Weybridge with completion expected in 2025.
The work is part of the library strategy focused on ensuring that Surrey libraries deliver a service that is fit for the future and accessible to all. The plans include significant changes at each location, including the creation of community 'hubs' in Staines and Weybridge.
Surrey Arts’ aim is to increase people's interest and participation in the arts throughout Surrey. In partnership with other organisations, they offer support, tuition, and advice to people of all ages and abilities in areas such as:
· music,
· singing, choirs and vocal groups
· drama,
· dance,
· visual and performing arts.
Their aims and objectives are to:
· make arts activities available and accessible to all people in Surrey whatever their age and needs,
· promote arts activities that enrich lives, aid well being and strengthen communities,
· raise the profile of dance, drama, music and visual arts in Surrey,
· create high-quality experiences, activities and resources by working with those who are experts in their field, and provide professional development and support to creative practitioners, schools and organisations.
Surrey Cultural Partnership (SCP)
SCP is a collective of people from culture, heritage, local government, business, education, health and criminal justice working together to ensure that everyone in Surrey has the opportunity to participate in, engage with and contribute to extraordinary cultural activity, whoever they are and wherever they live. SCP meets regularly to share news, encourage one another and to make plans. Alongside Partnership meetings, they host twice-yearly stakeholder and member gatherings, and have a programme to support cultural leaders and to develop future leaders.
Surrey Museums Partnership has been a single point of contact for the county’s museums and galleries for 30 years. They provide advice and support for over 40 museums and their staff, including hundreds of volunteers, and a voice on a larger stage where most museums are small. The organisation is the only museum partnership of its kind. It is funded jointly by Surrey’s District & Borough Councils, and Surrey County Council.
A programme to support Spelthorne businesses to reduce business costs and carbon.
Spelthorne Council has commissioned Place Support Partnership to help you save money on your business costs. This includes savings on new contracts, advice on navigating the cost-of-doing-business crisis, and how to achieve the best value on essential services like gas, water, insurance, electricity, telecoms and merchant fees.
Places Leisure is a social enterprise that operates dozens of leisure centres, sports centres, swimming pools, halls and hubs across the UK. They work with local authority partners to deliver health and wellbeing programs for all, rather than just operating facilities. As part of Places for People, they aim to become the UK’s leading health and wellbeing enabler, welcoming over 30 million members to around 100 health and wellbeing facilities annually.
Primary Care Networks, also known as Neighbourhoods, build on the core of current primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care.
Primary Care Networks are based on GP registered lists, typically serving natural communities of around 30,000 to 50,000. They should be small enough to provide the personal care valued by both patients and GPs, but large enough to have impact and economies of scale through better collaboration between practices and others in the local health and social care system. Spelthorne has three Primary Care Networks; SASSE 1, SASSE 2, SASSE 3.
Visit Staines BID is the trading name of Staines-upon-Thames Business Improvement District (BID) which is a not for profit, limited by guarantee company working on behalf of 300 businesses in the town centre.
Voluntary Support North Surrey
Voluntary Support North Surrey (VSNS) is an independent charity that supports approximately 1,500 voluntary and community organisations within the three boroughs of Runnymede, Spelthorne and Surrey Heath and their 300,000 residents.