We pursue EXCELLENCE

Richmond has a unique cultural infrastructure and a reputation for quality and leadership particularly in parks, sports and heritage.

Our parks were rated fifth out of 32 London boroughs in the 2020 Good Parks for London annual report and received a 97% satisfaction rate from residents in the 2019 Parks Satisfaction Survey. The borough is home to internationally renowned sports venues and heritage sites which contribute to the cultural life of our residents and visitors to London and the UK¹, and to St Mary’s University, Twickenham which is a prominent centre for sporting excellence. Richmond is also where parkrun originated, with the very first event taking place in Bushy Park in 2004.

The arts are well served by award-winning venues including the Orange Tree Theatre and Orleans House Gallery and our 12 libraries continue to be vibrant and engaging community venues that provide high quality services to residents across the whole borough, including the fastest reservation service in London and the third fastest in Britain.²

We are proud of the borough’s rich cultural life, yet we know from talking to our communities that we need to improve on it. When asked to describe Richmond’s cultural offer, safe and limited were two of the most popular words used, and many residents told us they travel into central London or elsewhere for more diverse and innovative cultural experiences, particularly the younger generation. Only 2% of people described culture in Richmond as exciting.³

“(There is a) limited offer in the borough particularly for the young”

“More vibrant and contemporary programming”

Public programmes and events such as the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Dance in Libraries, Richmond Lit Fest and The Streets have brought distinctive cultural experiences to Richmond in recent years, but we know we can do more. Over the next decade we want to raise the bar to stretch ambition and nurture a cultural sector which challenges and takes risks, enabling us to access new opportunities and resources to achieve our vision and provide residents and visitors with an original, relevant and inspiring cultural offer.

“More adventure!”

How we will do this

• We will actively seek out new partnerships and collaborations and commit to working with underrepresented cultural forms and practitioners to facilitate excellent cultural activity in the borough, contributing to Arts Council England’s vision of an innovative, collaborative and international cultural sector for the country.
• We will engage with national development and funding agencies to cultivate the borough’s arts, museums & libraries offer, aiming to increase inward investment from arts funding bodies and have two National Portfolio Organisations in Richmond by 2031.
• We will support competitive sport in the borough and work with partners to identify and develop effective pathways to support talented sports people.
• We will continue to lead in excellent parks management and innovation and use our reputation and expertise to share knowledge, experience and assets across the sector.
• By 2026 we will have identified how we can use Richmond’s iconic music heritage and diverse contemporary practice to foster a more vibrant music scene in the borough.
• We will explore how we can maximise the use of Richmond’s rich physical assets and consider how our parks and open spaces in particular can be a key resource in supporting our pursuit of excellence.
• We will consider how the Arts Council England’s Investment Principles might be a helpful model for how we cultivate excellence in Richmond.

Next: We are RESPONSIVE