One prevailing narrative of these austerity years has been the vulnerability of certain discretionary services to significant cuts in funding. In many cases the story of services and activities deemed desirable but, ultimately, not essential is an inevitable and understandable one.

Behind that broad story, however, there is often a more nuanced position. Arts, culture and heritage are part of that more granular picture. Councils across England still spent over £1bn on these services in 2015/16 and that, allied to imaginative use of brokerage, broader deals and use of powers, are all playing their part in the wider regeneration of places and communities.