Government launches living places programme to promote the inclusion of culture in community growth

The government has announced plans for 3 million homes by 2020 and these new homes will make up the communities of the future. Communities and Local Government want to ensure that these are sustainable communities, rich in character and culture - we recognise the valuable contribution that culture can make in building safer, stronger communities that are empowered, confident, cohesive and visionary as well as the contribution it makes to the local economy, employment and skills.

Living places is a programme based on the agreement between five of the leading cultural agencies: Arts Council England, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), English Heritage, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and Sport England; their sponsoring department the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC). This is the first time the five cultural agencies, CLG, CMS and ASC have come together formally to work together on supporting the role of culture in communities.

The aim of living places is to ensure that all communities, particularly those experiencing housing-led growth and regeneration, can benefit from cultural and sporting opportunities. By working together, the partners will ensure that culture is embedded in the development of our villages, towns and cities alongside other key areas of provision such as healthcare and transport.

We know that place matters and cultural and sporting assets and opportunities have a great part to play in creating and enhancing places.

This is why, in 2006, CLG became part of the 'Culture and Sustainable Communities Joint Agreement', Living Places: Stronger Communities through Culture, along with DCMS and five of the leading cultural agencies and, more recently, the Academy for Sustainable Communities. This agreement aims to ensure that all communities, and particularly those experiencing housing-led growth and regeneration, can benefit from cultural and sporting opportunities.