What is a Culture Strategy – and why now?
The Culture Strategy is a formal document that sets out how the Council will support, promote and invest in culture over the next decade.
It touches everything from:
- Community spaces and heritage buildings
- Street festivals and public art
- Creative careers and training
- Green spaces, libraries and local archives
- Health and wellbeing through cultural activities
It also sets a vision for what kind of place Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and our villages want to be; and what stories we choose to tell about ourselves.
I once worked with teenagers who told me, ‘Miss, we don’t have culture’ – they thought it belonged to other people. After weeks of discussion and creativity, I took them to Tate Modern. Most were thrilled, calling out, ‘Miss, this is like what we did!’ But one boy walked out. On the way home, he said: ‘There’s nothing for me in there, I can’t buy anything, not even a Coke…..
That stayed with me. A cultural strategy must show people they belong. Culture isn’t handed down – it’s built. It must create a history of belonging, not exclusion.
Why does this matter to you?
Because you already take part in culture, whether you realise it or not.
- Do you sing in a choir, volunteer at a festival, or organise a social events?
- Do you visit the Beaney, go to the cinema, or support a local maker?
- Does your child dance, draw, code, or create?
Then you’re already shaping our cultural life.
The new strategy needs to reflect this lived experience, not just formal institutions. It should support the community-led, grassroots, and everyday creativity that makes our district unique.
This is a rare chance to influence how culture is understood and resourced locally. Let’s make sure the strategy isn’t just aspirational but grounded in how people actually live, gather and create across the district.
What’s in the draft strategy?
The Council’s draft identifies three themes:
- Together – making culture more collaborative
- Belong – using culture to foster inclusion
- Value – recognising culture’s social and economic impact
It sets ambitions for:
- Children and young people
- Health and wellbeing
- The creative economy
- Rural and coastal access
- Public art, archives and events
- Regenerating places like King’s Hall and Canterbury Castle
It’s a strong start.
How can we help?
The draft is thoughtful but hard to access unless you already speak the language of policy. In addition to improving the strategy’s accessibility we believe it needs:
- More concrete delivery plans
- Clearer funding links (e.g. S106, NPO, UKSPF)
- A focus on rural equity and informal venues
- Recognition of community groups and creative freelancers
- A wider public understanding of what “culture” really means
So we’ve created a simple one-minute survey to collect local voices and help influence the final version.
Tell us what culture means to you
We want to include local perspectives in our group submission.
Please take just 60 seconds to tell us:
👉 What does culture mean to you?
We’ll include a selection of anonymous responses in our formal response to the Council.
Final thoughts
This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to shape what gets valued in Canterbury.
Culture is more than entertainment; it’s identity, memory, opportunity and care.
If we want our libraries to stay open, our festivals to thrive, our children to find creative futures, our stories to be told – we need to speak up now.
💬 Click here to submit your view in our quick survey
or
🖋️ Submit your own consultation response
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