Waltham Forest named London's first Borough of Culture

Waltham Forest has won a £1.35 million competition to be named the first Borough of Culture — thanks to plans including a laser light show and an Alfred Hitchcock festival.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the council’s bid — one of 22 received — was “ambitious in scale and placed local people at the very heart of the programme”.

Among the projects which will now get funding are a laser-light installation in Epping Forest, a two-day film festival in Leytonstone in honour of Hitchcock — the local boy-turned-Hollywood director, and a50 sq m solar-powered light show on Walthamstow Marshes.

The borough has built a reputation for the arts in recent years as artists priced out of inner London have moved in. The council-owned Grade II listed William Morris Gallery, which was home to the designer for almost 10 years, was named Museum of the Year in 2013 and the borough is also home to a regular art trail where residents transform their homes into galleries and open them up to visitors. Its bid was supported by names including choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne, who grew up in Walthamstow, and Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who lived in Leytonstone.

Mr Khan announced Brent would become the second borough of culture in 2020 and that six others would share £800,000 to pay for six one-off projects. Industry experts evaluated the proposals before the decision was made by Mr Khan and Justine Simons, the deputy mayor for culture.

Mr Khan said: “It’s vital that young people get access to culture, regardless of their background, so that they can aspire to be our performers, artists, entrepreneurs and cultural leaders of the future.”