North East leaders say a planned multi-million pound Centre for Writing will help bridge the gap in cultural funding between London and the North East. Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the North East Combined Authority’s (NECA) cabinet, mayor Kim McGuinness also urged the Government to devolve decisions on arts council funding to a regional level.
The centre, which will be based in Newcastle, aims to provide opportunities and careers for North East residents in the creative industries. It is hoped that the centre will “cement the region’s place as a national centre for writing and literature” and attract big-name publishers.
NECA has agreed to put £2 million of funding into the scheme, which is expected to cost £11.35 million overall. Other contributions include a confirmed £5 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Cultural Development Fund and £2.5 million from Northumbria University, while Newcastle City Council is expected to provide £1 million. A further £853,559 will need to be raised via additional fundraising sources, such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The next steps will see a city-based property in Newcastle acquired. This will then be redeveloped into the Centre for Writing, which will be operated as a joint venture between Tyneside-based charity New Writing North (NWN) and Northumbria University.
Ms McGuinness said: “We are investing £2 million to the needs of local creatives. There is not enough national money – we do seem to have been a bit forgotten about up here.
“There is a £40 million gap between the North and London. It is unbelievable that this is happening in this day and age.
“We need to devolve arts council funding. The alternative seems to be the great North misses out.
“Publishing has been lost in the south for too long with a positive impact on residents in the south. We want to support home-grown talent, we know there’s nobody better to tell our stories than the northern people themselves.
Image: Freepik
“There are so many stories to come out of this region.”
It is envisaged it will support key creative assets in the region such as Newcastle’s Seven Stories and The National Centre for the Written Word in South Shields.
A report presented to the cabinet stated that it is anticipated NWN and Northumbria University will own and operate the building to “ensure resilience and reach” for the investment. Furthermore, the business model seeks a “mixed approach” to generating income in order to ensure sustainability.
Newcastle City Council’s deputy leader Coun Alex Hay said: “This is a bold step forward for the creative industries in our region.
“This is more than just a building – it is about growing jobs, attracting investment and giving people of all ages a way into the creative industries, ensuring the North East has a strong voice in UK culture.”
The investment comes after analysis from IPPR North found a £450 million “culture chasm” between London and the North of England was adding to a “vicious cycle of regional inequality”. The think tank found that the capital received arts and culture funding of £57 per person between 2023 and 2025, compared to only £28 per person in the North of England.
IPPR claimed that if the North was funded at the same rate as London, it would have received an extra £450 million from Arts Council England (ACE).
Researchers say that, while the funding gap has actually shrunk from £700 million between 2018 and 2022, there remained a “clear need to redress historic underfunding and cultural exclusion in regions like the North” and called for power over arts and culture funding to be handed to regional mayors instead.
