Cross artform

A new network for creative businesses in South London has launched to boost growth and innovation in the area.

The Creative Industries Network is a partnership between Kingston University and Business, Innovation and Growth South London.

It will offer a range of services to businesses, including mentoring, peer-to-peer learning and access to creative business opportunities.

A workshop series will tackle topics such as digital transformation, business resilience, bid writing, and skills and talent development.

The new initiative is led by Professor Maria Chatzichristodoulou, Associate Dean of Research, Business & Innovation at Kingston University.

She said: “We are building a dynamic network of businesses, practitioners and researchers from across the creative sector in South London.

“We aim to bring the sector together to address common challenges, and share opportunities and best practice.”

The network, which covers Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton, is open to organisations operating within the performing arts, visual arts, music, museums and heritage, crafts, design, literature, film, TV and arts and culture management.

An online launch event is planned for 3 October.

DCMS Chair Julian Knight has written to the National Audit Office (NAO) calling for an investigation into nationwide festival Unboxed: Creativity in the UK.

In his letter to the spending watchdog, Knight called the £120m festival an "excessive waste of money during a cost of living crisis" and a "fiasco in the making".

Speaking to the BBC, he added that "questions need to be answered about how this was allowed to happen".

"I'm calling for an NAO investigation to ensure we see what has happened, why it is that this money has been spent in this way and then we also learn the lessons for the future," Knight said.

"We saw the warning signs… and the fact is this has been potentially a monumental waste of money and has had little impact in the country as a whole."

Unboxed’s Chief Creative Officer Martin Green told the BBC Unboxed is “bold and groundbreaking” and value for money.

He added the festival had done “exactly what the government asked us to do”.

According to a recent investigation, the festival has been attracting only a fraction of its target audience numbers.

Official audience figures are expected to be released next month.

Allwyn Entertainment has officially been awarded the fourth licence to operate the National Lottery after a legal case brought by the current operator Camelot was dropped.

The new licence, awarded by the UK Gambling Commission, will allow Allwyn to operate the National Lottery for a decade, starting in February 2024.

The company said it expects to grow sales, doubling the amount of money currently provided to UK good causes as a result.

“We have exciting plans for this important and cherished institution, crucially raising even more proceeds for good causes across the country, improving the player experience through the latest technology and ensuring safe participation,” said Allwyn's Chairman Justin King.

Allwyn's CEO, David Craven, said the move “signals a time for change for the National Lottery”. 

“Our primary transition objective is to responsibly boost performance leading to increased contributions to good causes.”

According to The Guardian, Camelot, the outgoing operator which has run the lottery since it was launched in 1994, decided to not to proceed with a legal challenge relating to the award of the licence after it emerged that more than £1bn for good causes could be lost if the handover of the £6.4bn contract was delayed.