£150m Creative Places Growth Fund launched

In this article, Public Funding Partner, Alexander Rose, looks into how this fund will operate and the issues it will create.

Creative industries are sectors that are built around individual creativity, skill, and talent.  The intellectual property developed by this sector can be seen all around us – in the clothes we wear, the buildings we live and work in, the music we listen to, the books we read, the adverts on our screens, and the video games which people play.

The creative industries were estimated to be worth £124 billion to the UK economy in 2023 and the government sees this sector as an important driver of economic growth and regional development in the coming years.

To support this it has published the Creative Industries Sector Plan which includes a  £10 million commitment to the National Film and Television School to help to train 2,000 new trainees and apprentices over the next decade.

The Creative Places Growth Fund

In September 2025 the government launched the £150m Creative Places Growth Fund alongside announcing an extra £8m investment into the centrally managed Create Growth Programme.

This funding will be administered in allocations of £25m each by six of England’s fifteen Combined Authorities, these being:

1. Greater Manchester Combined Authority;
2. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority;
3. West Midlands Combined Authority;
4. West Yorkshire Combined Authority;
5. The North East Combined Authority; and
6. West of England Combined Authority

What that means in practice is that each of these organisations will have discretion  as to which creative industries to support and the type of interventions to be made acting in line with their obligations to manage public money and their Local Growth Plans.

Therefore the relevant Metro Mayor could choose to use their £25m allocation to provide new access to finance options for the local fashion industry or select to provide grants towards helping people train in skills needed to thrive in TV, film and music. It seems likely that the chosen Mayoral Strategic Authorities will run open calls in which interested parties can make the case for funding.

Of course, Subsidy Control compliance will be an early consideration.
Although the award of these grants will be linked to the arts, public support to grow businesses in this sector will normally be considered a subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act 2022.   The smallest awards will often fit within the requirements of the Minimal Financial Assistance route, but larger awards will need to be considered against the Subsidy Control principles or delivered under the cover of a subsidy scheme.  A streamlined route specifically for arts and culture was announced in April 2025, but has yet to be published by the government.

Conclusion

The £150m Creative Places Growth Fund is good news for England’s creative industries within the locations chosen as it will provide financial support towards new projects and initiatives.  Undoubtedly those designing projects and initiatives within these areas will want more information about eligibility at the earliest opportunity, whilst those in areas which have missed out upon funding will want to know whether there will be future initiatives to support their interests.

Ward Hadaway is the first choice legal adviser for many of the country’s leading public authorities but also for businesses seeking to secure public funding.