Culture and leisure

Culture and leisure is led by Andy Howitt

The division covers libraries and information services, Salford Museum and Art Gallery, arts development, and cultural partnerships. It also commissions Salford Community Leisure to provide sports and fitness for everyone across the city.

The division continues to develop its crucial role in enabling citizens to stay active and healthy through effective commissioning of services. The partnership with the primary care trust, particularly, focuses on reducing health inequalities through providing people with greater opportunities for activity and maintaining good mental health.

The opening of the gateway centres have resulted in improved library services and, together with the modernisation of other local libraries, has led to a significant increase in the use of libraries, which supports the council's wider goals of supporting learning and community cohesion.

The successful bid for funds to enable the redevelopment of Ordsall Hall will enable the city to offer a high quality and unique cultural and historical experience in the years to come.

The Lowry opened on 28 April 2000, bringing together a wide variety of performing and visual arts under one roof. Opening its door to the best in entertainment and education in the arts, The Lowry aims to give everyone access to new areas of creativity and to embrace its broad community.

The division plays a key role in reaching out to traditionally ‘hard to reach' or vulnerable groups. Low impact physical fitness activities such as ‘healthy hips and hearts' take place across the city in many groups, run by staff and volunteers. Fit City Clarendon has been IFI (Inclusive Fitness Initiative) accredited and the library and information service has invested in a mobile information centre which will tour the city offering advice surgeries and free internet access to people who can't or don't go to their local library. The museum and art gallery has also involved hard-to-reach groups, developing cross-cultural volunteering projects.

Key aims are:

• To develop further strategic commissioning work for improving culture and sport opportunities in Salford in ways that link with aspirations and priorities for the city.
• Commissioning services from Salford Community Leisure, with a view to maximising involvement of citizens in sport and leisure activities.
• Partnership and commissioning work with the Lowry with a view to supporting its contribution to the city and maximising involvement of citizens in cultural activities.
• Continuing to contribute to the development of the integrated model of service delivery in the gateway centres.
• Ensuring the successful redevelopment of Ordsall Hall.
• To undertake further preparatory work and capital fund raising activity for the redevelopment of Salford Museum and Art Gallery and obtain the council's agreement for proposals for its long-term future.
• To continue to invest in the improvement of culture and sport facilities within local communities including, in the shorter term, improvements to Fit City Ordsall and Fit City Broughton Pool.

This page was last updated on 19 April 2011