Camden, the country’s capital of creativity

Residents of Camden were today revealed to be the most creative in the country.

Almost two in five people in the borough indulged their inner Hirst or Gambon — more than anywhere else in England — said a survey which asked whether people had spent time on artistic, creative or musical activities in the last 12 months. Residents of Hackney and Kensington and Chelsea also scored highly, but Newham had only half as many participants as Camden.

Havering, Hillingdon and Barking were also in the lower rankings.

The research was published today by Audience UK for the Participation Manifesto Group, which includes Voluntary Arts, the National Campaign for the Arts and the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers.

It showed that across England nearly 28.6 per cent of the adult population said they had spent time doing something creative, artistic, theatrical or musical when asked in 2008, the last year for which figures were available. The average for London was 29.5 per cent, with Camden at 39.3 per cent.

Nearly 77 per cent of people in Richmond-upon-Thames had gone to a concert, play or exhibition in the last 12 months, the highest level in the country.

In the table for attending cultural events, Camden came second, Kensington and Chelsea third and Hammersmith and Fulham fourth.