LONDON has been awarded the accolade of Britain’s most creative city, according to a new survey.


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To be frank that’s a bit like beating your two-year old at Monopoly, but what is more surprising is that Southwark emerged as the most creative part of town.

“London’s dedication to growing and sustaining creativity is world-class,” said Jemma Montuschi, of Sharpie Markers, the company which conducted the Creativity Index report.

“Interestingly, Southwark was highlighted as its creative heart, receiving over UKP1,175,000 of Arts Council funding, more than the majority of individual towns in the UK.”

Arts Council funding is just one of the factors that earns points on the Creative Index, others being the concentration of things like galleries, museums and theatres, the proportion of a workforce employed in the creative sector and even how many pubs and clubs an area has, as these are said to underpin more obvious creative work. These factors come into play for Southwark, home to the Tate Modern and the Globe theatre.

Some of the raw figures are impressive. London is reckoned to have 625,000 people employed in the creative sector, working for firms worth some UKP21 billion and there are in the region of 1,500 theatre companies.

As if to back up Sharpie’s findings, Time Out’s new shopping guide reports that London has seen a recent boom in boutique fashion stores. “People are becoming more interested in boutiques because they are after an individual look,” said Lisa Ritchie, the guide’s editor. “Independent fashion shops seem to be thriving.”