Wigan secures national lead role in creative health transformation
Wigan Borough has been selected as one of six new areas in England to spearhead a national creative health initiative aimed at integrating arts and culture into public health strategies. The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) confirmed the borough’s inclusion in the Creative Health Leads Programme on Monday, May 18, 2026. This selection brings national funding, supported by Arts Council England and The Baring Foundation, to enhance how creative activities are used in clinical pathways and community prevention.
The programme will facilitate the appointment of a dedicated Creative Health Lead for Wigan. This specialist will work alongside the NCCH and local partners to embed creative health into the borough’s long-term public health frameworks. The initiative builds on the local “Progress with Unity” missions, which emphasize community-led wellbeing and the reduction of health inequalities.
New leadership for borough-wide wellbeing
The introduction of a Creative Health Lead marks a shift toward formalizing the role of arts in local healthcare. This new role will be responsible for establishing a Creative Health Network, focusing specifically on two key demographics: children and young people facing mental health challenges, and older residents experiencing social isolation.
Councillor Keith Cunliffe, Wigan Council’s deputy leader and cabinet portfolio holder for adult social care and health, noted that creative health serves as a tool to build stronger communities. The borough already hosts various Wigan residents benefiting from creative health initiatives, ranging from community music groups for those with long-term conditions to creative spaces designed to foster social connection.
The funding allows for these existing projects to be scaled and better integrated with NHS and social care partners. By formalizing these links, the council aims to ensure that creative interventions are not seen as optional extras but as essential components of the borough’s prevention and neighbourhood health strategies.
Building on existing cultural foundations
Wigan’s selection follows the launch of “The Fire Within: The Forge” cultural strategy in September 2025. That launch, which featured a performance by the band The Lathums at Wigan Pier, set a precedent for using the borough’s cultural heritage to promote physical and mental wellbeing. The strategy specifically targets young people, offering cultural education as a means of improving life outcomes and resilience.
Rachael Musgrave, Wigan’s director of public health, stated that health outcomes are shaped by the places where people live and their social relationships. Musgrave highlighted that while the evidence base for creative health is growing nationally, the local impact is already visible through improved confidence and, in certain instances, a reduced reliance on traditional clinical services.
The borough joins a second phase of areas including Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Portsmouth, and several London networks. These areas follow the first phase participants, such as Cornwall and West Yorkshire, as part of a wider effort to establish 25 to 30 Creative Health Lead roles across England by 2028.
National learning and local priorities
The new Creative Health Lead will not only manage local projects but will also contribute to national research. Their findings on how creativity can reduce health inequalities will inform future policy for the National Centre for Creative Health. This dual role ensures that Wigan’s local successes in tackling isolation and mental health are shared with other health and care systems across the country.
Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate a clear link between creative participation and clinical outcomes. This includes using arts-based interventions to support people with long-term physical conditions and developing new pathways for social prescribing within the NHS. The borough’s Cultural Partnership will play a central role in coordinating these efforts between the voluntary sector and healthcare providers.
Source: Wigan Council
