Such a wonderful aspect of life in Monmouthshire is the deep vein of creativity that we see everywhere. It is a privilege to be able to help ensure that this is supported and enriched as part of our unique local culture.

There’s always something going on in and around our area. Events, festivals and gigs for people of all ages and tastes. Clubs and societies. Individuals working on their own and in creative industries. And, of course, our county’s history and heritage which lies near the surface of everyday life for all of us, with castles, churches and historic buildings, industrial archaeology and museum collections.

Then there’s our wonderful landscape which still inspires people today as it has for centuries, triggering music, art and literature.

Of course, culture isn’t just artistic effort or our landscape. It is far wider and deeper than that, embedded in some of the many of the things we all do.

And in the past few months we have been working on our own fresh council cultural strategy. We have used it as a chance to ask people like you across the county questions about what you think makes Monmouthshire special and what’s important to your culture and your life. This, in turn, has triggered a process of re-thinking how we as a council can help and support activities to flourish.

In doing so we have also met world-leading creative professionals who live locally. They have shared ideas of how we can make more opportunities locally: more films made here, more festivals and events, more career opportunities to inspire our people.

And when you bring creative people together, great things happen, so the process has resulted in new collaborations, events and festivals.

Our next stage is to set up a Cultural Partnership Forum. Soon we will be inviting people to put themselves forward and to keep in touch with our Heritage Arts and Events team who will have updates on funding and other opportunities. If you, or someone you know, is running activities or wants to know more, please get in touch.

Then there’s a chance for our towns to bid for ‘Town of Culture 2028’ which has excited people all over the country. We are wholeheartedly supporting our towns to put themselves forward for this fantastic opportunity. And at the same time many of the ideas that have already come up will be taken forward in some other way. Confidence, creativity and good ideas should never be wasted.