Creative sector can regenerate our towns and cities

Mark Oulson-Jenkins, executive producer at East Lancashire-based Studio RTR, said the “cultural capital” which creative firms bring was playing a major role in attracting people to areas of the county and improving environments.

He added the creative sector was often misunderstood as being artistic when it includes firms in areas such as software technology, publishing and even museums, galleries and heritage exhibitions.

Studio RTR is sponsoring the Digital and Marketing Business of the Year category at this year’s Be Inspired Business Awards, the BIBAs, which closes for applications on March 29.

Mr Oulson-Jenkins said: “The creative sector is a very broad church including businesses which we find operating in towns and cities across Lancashire and often making a very visible difference to the place where they are based.

“The statistics show that the sector often outperforms the rest in terms of output, but the cultural capital they bring to lifting the environment and atmosphere of a place brings benefits to all.

“The recent ‘Museum of the Moon’ attraction at the Harris Museum in Preston is a perfect example; it attracted thousands of people to the city centre which brought a buzz to the place and potential customers to many other businesses”

In 2017, the creative sector contributed £101.5bn to the UK economy and employed more than two million people.

The Digital and Marketing Business of the Year category is one of 20 open for applications to the BIBAs with new categories for this year’s awards including Green Business of the Year and Growth Business of the Year.

To enter the awards visit, www.thebibas.co.uk/enter.