Havering Changing Awarded £1 Million As Arts Council England Portfolio Announced

21 Oct 2025

Havering Changing Awarded £1 Million As Arts Council England Portfolio Announced

Havering Changing has been awarded £1 million as part of Arts Council England’s largest-ever Creative People and Places (CPP) Portfolio, which sees £42 million invested in 45 programmes from 2026 to 2029 to deliver more grassroots-led cultural experiences in areas across England where involvement in arts and culture is below the national average.

This award represents a 33% increase in annual investment, rising from £250,000 to £333,000 per year, and is a powerful vote of confidence in Havering’s communities and the impact of their creativity.

CPPs bring together community, grassroots and cultural organisations as partners to take the lead in choosing, creating and taking part in creative and cultural activities. CPPs are empowering local people to pursue the art they want, where they live.

This funding is made possible thanks to National Lottery players. Every National Lottery ticket purchased generates money for good causes and helps ensure people across villages, towns and cities can access creativity where they live.

About Havering Changing

Havering Changing is a community-led arts programme that helps local people choose, create and take part in inspiring cultural experiences right where they live.

Since 2019, it has supported residents across the borough to lead more than 600 projects and events, involving over 17,000 participants, reaching nearly 80,000 people and investing over £2 million back into Havering’s creative economy.

From small ideas to large celebrations, Havering Changing has helped residents turn local spaces into places of creativity, transforming markets, parks and youth centres into vibrant stages for their own stories, and proving how powerful culture can be when it’s led by the community itself.

Led by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and a consortium of local partners including Clarion Futures, Havering Asian Social and Welfare Association (HASWA), Havering Volunteer Centre, Havering Youth Services & myplace, New City College, Kaleidoscope, and The Mercury Shopping Centre, Havering Changing supports residents in Collier Row, Harold Hill, Orchard Village, Rainham, and Rush Green to shape and lead the arts and culture in their own neighbourhoods.

A New Chapter for Havering’s Creativity

The next chapter of Havering Changing will build on its community-led model to make creativity part of everyday life across the borough.

Local Change Makers will lead new On Your Doorstep cultural programmes, while Creativity Hubs will turn familiar community spaces into lively cultural homes. Borough-wide Whole Place projects will bring neighbours together through shared celebrations, and a new Storytelling Co-operative will give residents the tools to tell Havering’s story in their own voices.

Through bold Creative Exchanges with artists from across the UK and beyond, and growing youth leadership opportunities, Havering Changing will celebrate the borough’s diversity, strengthen local pride, and make culture something everyone can be part of and enjoy.

Three people collaborate on glassblowing. A woman seated at a bench shapes molten glass on a metal rod, guided by two instructors on either side in an open workshop space.

Alex, Havering Change Maker, said:

“Before I became a Change Maker, I was living in a hostel. I felt so isolated. Havering Changing has changed me as a person. It gave me community when I was feeling isolated, and clarity about who I am and what I can achieve in my life.”

Joanne, Havering Change Maker, said:

“Havering Changing has given me the confidence to connect with my community. Everyone of all ages, from all backgrounds, has a voice, and we work together to shape what we want to see. This really makes us feel valued in arts spaces.”

Ravi Chagger, Independent Chair, Havering Changing, said:

“I am immensely proud of the hard work the Change Makers, Consortium, Staff and Partners have put in for this tremendous application. This significant investment is a powerful vote of confidence in the creativity of Havering’s residents. It allows Havering Changing to deepen its mission, ensuring that brilliant, ambitious cultural opportunities are truly built by and with everyone who calls it home.”

James Jackson, Project Director, Havering Changing, said:

“This isn’t just funding for art – it’s an investment in the people of Havering. Over the past five years, Havering Changing has shown what’s possible when residents lead the way: creativity flourishes, confidence grows, and communities come together with pride and purpose. This new investment is a recognition of that leadership. It will help us deepen those connections, reach new voices and keep proving that culture can transform everyday life when it starts on your doorstep.”

James Watson, Acting Chief Executive, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, said:

“Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is thrilled that Arts Council England is increasing its investment in Havering Changing, recognising the significant impact this programme has made over the past five years. This investment allows us to build on that success, strengthening our commitment to access to culture and opening up even more creative opportunities across the borough. We’re hugely grateful to our consortium partners, staff team, artists, community Change Makers and everyone who has taken part – and we’re excited to see what the community will imagine and create next.”

Michelle Walker, London Area Director, Arts Council England, said:

“Creative People and Places is about empowering people to bring creativity into everyday spaces in ways that are important to them. We’re thrilled to support a new round of locally rooted projects that reflect the energy and diversity of London’s communities, from citizen-led assemblies and eco-focused events to youth-driven initiatives. With National Lottery funding, these programmes will help Londoners shape the cultural life of their neighbourhoods.”

A man in a colourful patterned dashiki plays drums outdoors while a smiling woman with a camera around her neck dances beside him, raising her arms joyfully.

Get Involved

This funding is for everyone in Havering. Join a Change Maker group, bring your ideas to a Creativity Hub, or simply come along and take part.

Find out more and sign up for updates at www.haveringchanging.org or email hello@haveringchanging.org.

About Havering Changing

Havering Changing is part of the Creative People and Places programme, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Thanks to National Lottery players, the programme is about more people taking the lead in choosing, creating and taking part in creative and cultural experiences in the places where they live.

Since 2019, Havering Changing has reached over 79,000 people, engaged more than 18,000 participants, and invested over £2 million into the local creative economy.

About Creative People and Places

Creative People and Places focuses on parts of the country where involvement in creativity and culture is significantly below the national average. It funds partners in local areas to empower residents to decide what kind of creative activity they want to experience on their doorstep.

It’s all made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes each week.

About Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture.

Our vision, set out in our strategy Let’s Create, is that by 2030 England will be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.

Between 2023 and 2026, we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside an estimated £250 million each year from the National Lottery.

Until Autumn 2025, the National Lottery is celebrating its 30th anniversary of supporting good causes in the UK: since the first draw in 1994, it has raised £49 billion and awarded more than 690,000 grants.