North Somerset and Weston have been announced as a priority place to transform the country through culture.

As part of Art Council England's delivery plan for 2021-24 North Somerset was named as one of 54 priority places across the country, with a focus on Weston.

Published on September 16, Arts Council England’s three-year delivery plan sets out a detailed roadmap to implement the vision of its strategy – Let’s Create.

The vision set out in Let's Create offers a clear pathway to supporting communities in their recovery from the pandemic.

Arts Council England will focus its staff resources and financial investment on the 54 priority places over the next three years.

Each of the priority places is ambitious to drive positive change through culture. Priority place status recognises the need for increased development time from the Arts Council to grow cultural investment in the area and is intended to give more people the opportunity to enjoy excellent cultural experiences in their communities and neighbourhoods.

Cllr Mark Canniford, North Somerset Council’s executive member for placemaking and economy said: “I’m delighted that Weston and North Somerset have been selected by Arts Council England as a priority place.

"We recognise the power of arts and culture to transform lives and are proud that the potential we see in Weston and beyond is also recognised by the Arts Council.

"We have an ambition to make North Somerset a distinctive place for arts and culture and this is now firmly embedded in our placemaking plans for Weston. It will also be reflected in our plans for our other towns.

"We have gained a huge amount from our partnership with the regional team and are looking forward to working with Arts Council England over the next three years to deliver even more for our residents, our visitors and for our creative sector.”

In the last decade, the Arts Council has significantly shifted its investment outside of London. The aim in Let’s Create is to increase focus on specific places underserved in the past.

The publication of the delivery plan follows the Government’s £1.96billion Culture Recovery Fund, administered by the Arts Council and other bodies.