Westminster City Council at our BFI event this March

Above: Debbie Jackson of Westminster City Council (courtesy Westminster City Council)

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Debbie Jackson, Westminster Council's Executive Director of Growth, Planning and Housing, will be speaking at our British Film Institute event this March. She has responsibility for a wide range of outcomes including the delivery of high-quality housing, a vibrant economy with opportunities for all and places that workers, visitors and residents can enjoy.

Debbie began her career at Westminster in 1997 and has over twenty years’ experience in London’s public sector, building a breadth of experience in regeneration and economic development in particular.

She was responsible for the regeneration of Lambeth’s key town centres including Clapham and Brixton in Lambeth. At the Greater London Authority she led on several high-profile Mayoral programmes including the Good Growth Fund, Crowdfund London, Skills for Londoners Capital Fund and Good Growth by Design.

Debbie will be talking at our event about the value of culture to the economy of the borough and how Westminster City Council is investing in connected jobs and housing and the visitor economy.

Westminster City Council says its Cultural Strategy demonstrates the council’s commitment over the next five years to ensuring Westminster remains a vibrant, welcoming and inclusive cultural hub. It says it is a continued invitation to its residents, businesses, voluntary and arts partners to work with it, to create meaningful experiences and the right conditions for innovation to flourish. It states:

'The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for cultural engagement. It has shown us how in difficult times our common humanity and its creative expression through the arts can be a vital source of inspiration, resilience and healing.

'The Strategy demonstrates we are now, more than ever, committed to doing all we can to enable Westminster’s world-class cultural and creative sector to prosper; from our placemaking initiatives – creating new and exciting public spaces– to animating the city through outdoor events, festivals and markets.

'The creative potential of our young people is being nurtured by our Children’s Services and City Lions officers through a range of school partnerships, industry events and cultural enrichment activities. We already offer a range of arts and wellbeing initiatives, but our new Strategy looks at whether we can do more with others on this front.

'Its' vision is of a city that welcomes visitors and residents to experience our extraordinary cultural heritage alongside contemporary creative innovation and enterprise. We wish to work with partners to provide wider access to culture, greater wellbeing through arts participation, thriving creative businesses, new jobs and many more creative places and spaces. Collectively it can maximise the cultural offer across our city as we build a better future and a City for All.'