Musings

When I told my creative comrades of the move, I encountered an assault of xenophobic retorts… ‘It’s grim up North’, ‘Why are you going to Bleakpool?!’, ‘Have fun in Depreston!’... you get the idea. It didn’t exactly paint a rosy picture of my soon-to-be home. Trawling the internet for creative agencies and organisations in Lancashire didn’t form a strong counter argument. A report by Invest in Lancashire stated that the creative and digital sector accounted for only 8% of Lancashire’s 55,000 businesses (and only 6% of the workforce). So I resigned myself to a life of remote working. 

Once I’d started to settle up here, I was able to dig more into the local business community. I happened across Society1 in Preston, tried their co-working space, attended a few of their events, and in turn discovered CWS Creatives. I caught glimmers of a creative community, and was optimistic that perhaps I’d been too hasty to judge this particular book by its cover. 

Lancashire plays a key part in the Government’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ economic strategy, but that focuses on Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing. One could hope that in growing the local economy in general it’ll have a positive impact on supporting industries, but I’m sceptical. 

We don’t even get a look-in from national creative initiatives either. Creative UK is running four regional summit events in 2025, discussing the importance of investing in the creative industries… sadly the North West doesn’t make the cut, being snubbed for the North East, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the South West.

Whilst Lancashire is overlooked nationally, there is a set of established local creative networks, facilitated and championed by organisations like Creative Lancashire, Arts Lancashire, Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership and Lancashire Digital Hub, along with local councils and educational institutions. A few of these organisations have been able to tap into Arts Council England National Portfolio funding, whereas others have to seek alternative funding sources and initiatives. 

One of the issues, as I see it, is things are done in silo, with each town following their own plans and initiatives, with seemingly little connection. It’s likely Lancashire is hampered by its own disparate geographic layout, and poor transport links. There’s no central hub for Lancashire, no Mecca for all us creative folks to flock to, limiting collaboration and how much momentum can be built. 

Currently championing the creative industries in Lancashire seems to be sitting on the shoulders of relatively few. It’s contingent on those involved having the time, energy and inclination to continue to blaze a trail, which, let’s face it, is a big ask. 

What does the future hold for creative industries in Lancashire? 

Will the creative industries fade into the background as the county becomes a techy and engineering stronghold, or could they ride their coat-tails? Will the next generations of creatives flock to the North West’s big cities in the search for work? Only time will tell. But one thing’s clear; if Lancashire is going to nurture its creative industries, it needs on-going investment and drive from organisations, councils, businesses and individuals. If they can build a united front, then maybe Lancashire can become a buzzing creative hive, which not only connects existing creative businesses but also fuels industry growth and draws new talent to the area. 

So, Lancashire, what’ll it be - clusters or clusterfuck?