During 2024 25, Northstowe Arts has continued to support connection through creativity in the new town of Northstowe, engaging with people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. Our broad range of activities has reached and affected people in many different ways, making a major contribution to the community’s placemaking, identity-building and individual wellbeing agendas, whilst collaborating with and enabling other organisations (grassroots and voluntary, public and private sectors) to achieve their missions and priorities. Several public-facing creative projects and installations were delivered this year. Commissioned by Homes England, Northstowe Arts managed the completion and launch of sculptural signage for Unity Lake and Halcyon Mere, including a walking trail and a launch event featuring a dance school and work by another local artist. We were the local partner for Paper Films’ Northstowe Neighbours short film, providing introductions, featuring Northstowe Arts Director Mari O’Neill as on-screen presenter, supporting offline survey submissions and presenting the premiere event. Our free programme of creative engagement included Spring Crafts and Holi Mela family workshops in partnership with Northstowe Hub cafe and Hindu Samaj Northstowe, and a Great Big Green Week workshop co-produced with BPHA (all supported through Co-Op Local Cause funding). Through the NSC Birds project, funded by Cambridgeshire County Council’s Community Reach programme, artist Paula Bond taught Arts Award students how to pass on their skills to younger children while creating ceramic birds, which were exhibited in partnership with COAX’s Summer Exhibition. Northstowe Arts was a lead partner for the inaugural Midsummer Festival, a community-wide celebration featuring community group stands and activities, a performance/workshop space, food trucks and a silent disco, supported by multiple funders including Homes England’s Community Activation Fund. Following its success, later in the year work began on planning for Midsummer Festival 2025. Light Up Northstowe returned with expanded partner involvement: in addition to the lantern parade, music stage, food trucks and toy swap, we delivered a series of creative workshops for schools, community and faith groups, local creative practitioners and the wider public. Funded by the National Lottery Communities Fund and other sponsors, this event continues to grow as a major moment in the town’s calendar. We were commissioned by Kier to develop a Public Art Delivery Plan (PADP) for the new Unity Centre, and delivered special outdoor cinema screenings as part of Northstowe Running Festival, including a screening of Northstowe Neighbours and a family film chosen by the community. Our Make and Mingle small-group crafting sessions found a new home at Northstowe Tap & Social, while Northstowe Chorus, delivered in collaboration with Northstowe Learning Community, began to bring residents together through monthly choir rehearsals. As well as undertaking business development, management and fundraising, Northstowe Arts Directors have continued to support wider community development and advocate for the role of creativity in Northstowe’s journey. This has included participation in Northstowe Support Partnership and Networker meetings, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority’s Culture and Creativity Forum, and conferences, and ongoing work to amplify the voice of the community locally and nationally.

Our stakeholders include: -People of all ages living or working in Northstowe -People of all ages living or working in the surrounding villages -Community groups and organisations active in Northstowe -Independent creatives and creative organisations in the local area -The local authorities and developers working to build the new town of Northstowe All our activities this year have been developed as a direct response to consultation with stakeholders. Much of this consultation has happened informally during conversations with residents attending our events or other events/activities we have supported; for example bringing outdoor cinema to the Running Festival. By meeting regularly and working on specific projects with other community groups and organisations, we have developed activities – such as the Midsummer Festival – which enabled them to achieve their goals and have brought members of the community together in ways which wouldn’t otherwise have happened. Having heard from local authorities and developers that there was a need to focus on placemaking activities to answer their agendas, we were pleased to collaborate on the Northstowe Neighbours short film, highlighting the vibrancy of the community that has already developed here. Throughout all our activity, we have prioritised and embedded involvement by residents of Northstowe and the surrounding villages to ensure continuing development of their ownership of and sense of identity of their new community.

Full details of directors’ remuneration are provided in our accounts. There were no other transactions or arrangements in connection with the remuneration of directors, or compensation for director’s loss of office, which require to be disclosed.

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration