The South East has over 8 million people living in 19 county and unitary authorities and 55 districts.
Geographically the region stretches in an arc around London, from Kent in the south-east to the New Forest in the south-west and to Aylesbury Vale and Milton Keynes in the north-west and includes the Isle of Wight.
- There are more than 300 museums and galleries in the South East, 260 of which are Registered/Accredited - the highest number in any region in England
- Over 550 public libraries are operated by the 19 public library services
- 218 archives registered with the Historical Manuscripts Commission. In addition, there are numerous university, business, estate, company and individual archives
On average, 54 million people visit the region’s museums, libraries and archives every year. The sector makes a significant contribution to the region’s economy with 19,956 jobs estimated to be supported by the sector and tourist visitors to museums, libraries and archives spending £230 million in the region’s visitor economy.
Cross cultural working
Plans for joint working across the region’s cultural agencies are being developed and it is being proposed that MLA forms part of a new South East Cultural Partnership (SECP) together with the regional offices of Arts Council England, Sport England and English Heritage. SECP would include contributing to regional strategies and consultations that affect the cultural sector; working with local government; 2012, learning and skills and place shaping initiatives including Living Places and Sea Change. There are 2 living Places Priority Places in the South East - part of the Thames Gateway and urban South Hampshire (PUSH).
Sustainable communities and cultural planning
As a region experiencing significant economic expansion and population growth, MLA South East has led a number of initiatives to secure the extra funding that will be required by museums, libraries and archives to meet the needs of these new and expanding communities.
The resources resulting from this work, notably
- Museum, Library and Archive Provision and New Development in the South East - Professor Martin Elson
- Securing Developer Contributions for Museum, Library and Archive Facilities in the South East - Professor Martin Elson
This was the preparatory work for MLA’s National Standard Charge for Public Libraries and Archives published in 2008 and both of these reports are available on the MLA Research Database.