05. Next steps
There are short, medium and long-term interventions Ealing can make to embed culture. These should be supported by some critical first moves.
All actions will require decisive action by the council, but with the support and structured engagement of Ealing's creative and cultural communities, businesses and other key public and private stakeholders.
A music strategy helps to identify how best to support artists and musicians, enabling them to thrive in the music ecosystem, and fostering a collaborative environment that the whole community can partake in. This includes recommendations for how music can enliven high streets and town centres in Ealing, improve brand strategy, increase talent attraction and retention, drive visitation and establish Ealing regionally and nationally.
The council needs to know with certainty which sites within the borough may provide viable options for new venues. In the case of music venues, a feasibility assessment would help determine a viable site(s) for a new venue (indoor) or live music performance infrastructure (outdoor) in Ealing. For all cultural infrastructure, feasibility testing must include assessments of viable business models, an understanding and assessment of the different operational and financial models and identifying and procuring suitable partners and operators.
Many of the projects identified in the cultural infrastructure plan will require significant onward funding to launch. Ealing must identify early possible funding streams and their suitability for the key projects.
Ealing should continue cultural community engagement to establish maximum impact for further work, business cases, feasibility studies and work with partner organisations.
Ealing should begin conversations and negotiations with stakeholders to advance the next steps of priority projects.
Delivery partners, including developers and cultural institutions, will play a crucial role in supporting Ealing to deliver the recommended projects.
Developers can integrate cultural spaces within new projects. This can involve allocating spaces for theatres, galleries, or community arts centres within residential or commercial developments.
Institutional partners interested in contributing to Ealing's cultural landscape can fund construction, maintenance, or renovation of cultural infrastructure. This can involve providing grants, sponsoring cultural events, or investing in the development of cultural facilities.
Potential partners with interest in projects can provide access to resources like collections for exhibitions or share expertise developed through previous work in Ealing or elsewhere.
Creative and cultural communities should continue to engage the council on their priorities for cultural space and equipment. The recommendations of this plan provide a framework and set of projects for the creative community to continue to actively shape.