In addition to her new responsibilities at the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) she will also become minister for women and equalities.

Jake Kanter at Broadcast reporting on the story earlier, observed that “Maria Miller has beaten Ed Vaizey, who was tipped for the DCMS post amid frenzied speculation about the prime minister’s reshuffle”.

Miller will be inheriting the DCMS at a time when the Guardian observes that she will have to “take on issues ranging from the Olympic legacy, the final report of the Leveson inquiry and a restive arts sector contending with public-spending cuts”.

Maria Miller who became an MP in 2005 has media experience in advertising agency Grey Advertising and a four-year stint as a marketing manager at oil firm Texaco. Her most recent government post was serving as the minister for disabled people at the Department for Work and Pensions.

View the guidance and briefing advice

Jody is the latest judge to join the nationally recognised panel that already includes; Phil Cave of Arts Council England and Kevin Murray of the Academy of Urbanism.

LCN committed to bringing together five nationally recognised leaders from different disciplines within the Creative Sector. We have had tremendous support from the five potential judges we’ve approached and have a commitment from:

• Phil Cave, Arts Council England’s National Director of Engagement
• Kevin Murray, Chairman of the Academy of Urbanism & Honorary Professor of Planning at Glasgow University
• Jody Smith, Multiplatform Commissioning Editor for Comedy & Entertainment at Channel 4

The busy schedules of all the judges have been an important factor and two of our potential Judges have unfortunately been unable to commit to the process due to work commitments.  We have therefore decided to extend the deadline for entries until Friday the 28^th of September. This extension allows us time to appoint two more judges and gives Lincolnshire creatives an extra 8 weeks to develop and submit their concepts for the chance to be ‘The Brand’ for the Lincolnshire Creative Network and have their logo and style applied to the createlincs.co.uk website, stationery and all other media.

With the competition open to all creative disciplines we’re expecting a wide variety of styles and interpretations that will be judged on the following criteria;

• Relation to Brief and Appropriateness to the Network (a copy of the brief will be supplied)
  Does the brand style and tone reflect the aims and messages of the network and their objectives such as connectivity and community?
• Creativity & Style
  Does the brand demonstrate individual thinking and a creative approach to the brief and has it been applied to maximise potential in terms of style and visual appeal?
• Individuality & Uniqueness
  Will the brand be unique enough to establish its own identity in the creative industry and stand out as a figurehead for a community of unique and diverse individuals?
• Cohesion & Clarity
  How well does the brand tie everything together? Does it have a consistent feel throughout and how well would it replicate across a range of media platforms?

For the full brief for the competition and terms & conditions for entry click here

Perhaps not an obvious subject for the LCN blog at first glance but it’s the legislation that considers whether a company is ‘disguising’ employment as a contract and avoiding paying PAYE and NI on drawings. The guidance includes new examples of how the HMRC decide if you are caught by IR35 or not and sets out 12 ‘ Business Entity’ questions to test how at risk you or your business are of an HMRC review. It’s certainly worth taking a look at the new guidance and reading though the questions to see if they apply to your business, particularly if you freelance / contract for one or a small number of clients.

You can find the guidance at  http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ir35/guidance.pdf

If you are, then take a look at the Wellcome Trust Arts Awards

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/Arts-Awards/index.htm

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health, by supporting the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust supports a wide breadth of work including public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health.

The Wellcome Trust Arts Awards scheme aims to:

• stimulate interest, excitement and debate about biomedical science through the arts
• examine the social, cultural and ethical contexts of biomedical science
• encourage new ways of thinking
• promote high-quality interdisciplinary practice and collaborations between arts, science and education practice
• support formal and informal learning.

The scheme is open to a wide range of people, including artists, scientists, curators, film makers, writers, producers, directors, academics, science communicators, teachers, arts workers and education officers.

Your project must involve the creation of new artistic work and have biomedical scientific input into the process, either through a scientist taking on an advisory role or through direct collaboration. This expert may be from an ethics, science or history background, but must be an expert in the area of biomedical science you are investigating.

If your proposed project has an artistic dimension but does not involve the creation of new work, then it may be more appropriate to apply for a People/Society Award, see further information at:

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/People-and-Society-Awards/index.htm

You can apply for funding at two levels:

Small Arts Awards (small to medium-sized projects – up to and including £30,000)
Funding can support the development of new project ideas, deliver small productions or workshops, investigate and experiment with new methods of engagement through the arts, or develop new collaborative relationships between artists and scientists.

The next deadline for the Small Arts Awards is 27 July 2012, followed by 26 October 2012, then 25 January 2013.

Large Arts Awards (larger projects – above £30,000)
This funding can support full or part production costs for high-quality large arts projects that aim to have significant impact on the public’s engagement with biomedical science. The 2013 deadline for Large Arts Awards is due to be announced soon.

Details of the Wellcome Trust Arts Awards scheme can be found at:

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/Arts-Awards/index.htm

You can also explore examples of how the Wellcome Trust supports the creative and cultural industries at:

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Our-vision/Focus-areas/Exploring/index.htm

He joins Kevin Murray, Chairman of the Academy of Urbanism and Honorary Professor of Planning at Glasgow University as the second of the panel of five to be revealed. The panel comprises of nationally recognised leaders in their fields, representing some of the key elements of the creative industries sector the LCN aims to connect; built environment, graphics, social media, design and culture.

We will be announcing the next judge shortly, but in the mean time, you can view the brief for the competition here – http://www.createlincs.co.uk/put-your-own-stamp-on-lincolnshires-creative-network

While I’m waiting outside Stoke station for Suzanne from rednile to pick me up, I spot a few tentative looking people who look like they might be on blind dates- except it’s a bit early and they’re wearing boots, waterproofs and backpacks – looking around, peering at others and then making contact, shaking hands and heading off for shared lifts to the meet point at the Westport Lake visitor centre.  Standing outside the visitor centre, Janine, another of the rednile collective, and Suzanne brief the participants. There are nine creatives, whose practice includes photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, film, landscape architecture, locative media and writing. They’ve all applied competitively to be here and have expressed an interest in urban landscapes, dereliction, industrial heritage and social history. While the artists (spaces are limited)set off on a 4 mile canal trip led by volunteer members of Burslem Port Trust, rednile and I sit in the visitor centre’s café and watch the rain sweeping across the lake while we discuss today’s event and the issues putting the event together has brought up. In this sleek, silvery white and wood building, with the lake at our feet, it’s too easy to forget the significant economic and social problems facing Stoke. Burslem is earmarked for regeneration and today’s event focuses on the Burslem Branch Canal – breached in 1961- and the derelict warehouses that cluster at its end- Burslem Port.

So what can artists add to this mix? What do they hope to get out of it? As rednile and I pick our way down to the canal side to meet the boat, I’m reminded of the way creatives can find promise in the most unprepossessing locations when Janine gets very excited about the assorted fridges, shelving units and assorted unidentifiable equipment in an adjacent scrap yard and spilling onto the footpath. As the group convenes on the canal bed- which would look like a grassy footpath but for Steve from Burslem Port Trust’s explanation of local history and expert interpretation of the retaining wall foundations- they quickly disperse into ones and twos to pick through the grass, scramble up muddy banks and pick up items of what could be rubbish or modern archaeological artefact. Everyone I talk to identifies access to hidden spaces as one of their key motivations for attending today- the derelict canal isn’t off limits but its history wouldn’t immediately be apparent and most of those attending are from outside Stoke. We also get to explore a long closed factory (pausing by a pile of a white clay, several artists collecting samples with the plastic bags they’ve brought with them), and pick through broken crockery that is another reminder of Stoke’s past. There’s a slight frisson of excitement as we’re warned about the areas of floor we really shouldn’t walk on and torches sweep the room.

The brief for Factory Nights is to bring together creatives across practices, give them access to somewhere unique and invite local experts to bring that uniqueness to the fore- and then see what happens. As the afternoon progresses, the weather closes in the group huddles under some overhanging branches, while discussing the impact of mass housing clearance in adjacent Middleton. By the time we return for refreshments at the Westport Lake visitor centre, there are numerous conversations taking place between people who’ve never met each other before and are talking about how they work and how they could work together. One artist talks about the immediacy of contact with space, that being in that space at that time gives a sense of something which can’t be replicated in any document. Burslem Port Trust, hoping to influence the regeneration plans, are enthusiastic about the creative responses to site, saying that it’s given them ideas about how the site could be utilised in a different way. What were the artists’ conclusions? Well, that isn’t the point of Factory nights- it’s about starting conversations, and creating a space for things to happen. There’s a commission on offer to those taking part- rednile hope that those attending today will be inspired and motivated to want to add their vision to the existing masterplan. Culture Partners will be watching with interest.

Links:

http://www.rednile.org/

http://www.burslemport.org.uk/

www.renewnorthstaffs.gov.uk/document_library/17/

http://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/page/westport-lake

LCN needs a corporate identity that speaks directly to those in the creative industries within greater Lincolnshire, communicating this network as a platform for those that are a part of this innovative, ever changing industry.

The primary audience is creative entrepreneurs and businesses working in any sector of the creative industries. Secondary audience members would include business, funders, partners, policymakers, government, press and the general public.

For more information click here

For the Film Culture Fund, awards will be made from £2,000 to £40,000 and you can apply by submitting your application through the website below.

The Talent Development Fund is open to individual writers, writer/directors and/or producers based in the English regions for the development of all types of feature films, including animation and documentary. Applications are available, with awards ranging from £2,500 to £25,000.

The NPPF provides the ‘Framework’ that informs the policy of all public sector Local Planning Authorities (local councils). It therefore has a direct impact on almost all aspects of development whether it’s urban, rural, public realm or private space because in most cases if you want to build new or change existing structures then you need a planning permission from the Planning Authority.  Previously your local planning policies were informed by a huge number of published Planning Policy Guidance Documents (PPGs) and Circulars.

To give an idea of the change that’s taken place, the NPPF has reduced over 1,000 pages of guidance and circulars to 47 pages of guidance in one document.

I imagine that there’s still likely to be fair amount of ‘new’ guidance issued in the next few years but that’s a serious edit by any standards.

Globe co-director Steve Kemp, who is an East Midlands Spokesman for the Royal Town Planning Institute, recently wrote (1),

“when the draft NPPF was published, I had prepared myself for something of a culture shock – but that’s not what I got. I’m sure there will be a lot of quibbling over the meaning of particular phrases in the days, weeks – probably years – to come but my first impression was that a pretty good job has been done.

To start with, being able to read through a reasonably succinct yet thorough statement of national planning policy in around an hour must be a good thing!”

However, it’s not been the extent of the edit that’s attracted the most comment, as I said before, it’s the “presumption in favour of sustainable development”, largely because it’s so difficult to define what a sustainable development is but as a company we’ve welcomed the decision not to try to define this too tightly in favour of encouraging local communities take a view on what’s sustainable for them.  And, that’s where the role that creative industries, cultural venues and public spaces play in communities impacts on the NPPF or visa versa.

ixia public art think tank, flagged up back in January that the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee stated, that it saw ‘a compelling case’ for the inclusion of ‘a cultural dimension as part of the social pillar of the definition of sustainable development’ within the NPPF.

In ixia’s update on the 21st March 2012 Jonathan Banks, Chief Executive of ixia, said (2),

“ixia believes that the recognition of cultural well-being and good design within the NPPF supports the provision of public art via the planning system at a local level. However, to utilise this support it is critical that public art is embedded within local planning documents. ixia will provide further guidance on the relationship between public art and the planning system as the full impact of the NPPF becomes clear”.

A similarly positive response has come from The Theatres Trust. Mhora Samuel, the Trust’s Director, said (3) when the NPPF was published “Today we celebrate a national planning policy that not only recognises culture, it also creates specific policies that both plan positively for cultural facilities and guard against their loss.”

“The published NPPF takes on board recommendations from the CLG Select Committee which included oral evidence from The Theatres Trust and representations from across the theatre and arts community.

The Theatres Trust is delighted to see the following policies in the NPPF:

•                The ambition of the NPPF to achieve sustainable development recognises the need for the planning system to perform a social role and reflect a community’s needs and support its cultural well-being.

•                The NPPF also recognises as a Core Planning Principle the need to take account of and support local strategies to improve cultural well-being for all, and deliver sufficient cultural facilities to meet local needs.

•                It guides local authorities to draw up Local Plans which allocate a range of suitable sites to meet the scale and type of cultural development in town centres and goes on to define main town centre uses as arts, culture and tourism, including theatres, museums, galleries and concert halls.

•                In order to promote a strong rural economy, it states that local and neighbourhood plans should promote the retention and development of cultural buildings.

•                In promoting healthy communities planning policies and decisions should plan positively for cultural buildings and guard against the loss of valued facilities and services.

•                And in conserving and enhancing the historic environment local planning authorities will need to take into accounts the cultural benefits that conservation of the historic environment can bring. “

As with all aspects of Planning it will be the interpretation of the Framework at the local level that will determine if it’s used as a positive tool or as a method of constraint- and that will be informed overtime by the decisions of the Planning Inspectorate.

At Globe we are very optimistic about the evolution of neighbourhood plans and localism in general. Our recent training sessions for parish councils on behalf of Council for Protection of Rural England and National Association of Local Councils were very well attended and at some the level of enthusiasm and questions from the parishes took over the agenda, which is exactly how it should be.  We are now looking forward to seeing plans emerging where cultural and community facilities are not simply funded add-ons to housing developments but are the core requirements around which new development evolves.

(1)http://www.globelimited.co.uk/national-planning-policy-framework-finally-published/

(2)http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/whatsnew/news/article.php/Update%3A+culture+and+the+National+Planning+Policy+Framework+%28NPPF%29

(3)http://thetheatrestrust.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/y/5E14571F03ECCE7A/3EADA5E327C0CDE9C06B463AA70A4F2C