Mary-Helen Young is an independent culture and night-time economy consultant, working with councils, developers and communities to give cultural communities and businesses agency and opportunity in the development of places. She's written the night-time strategies for Camden and Hackney, worked closely with the Woolwich Night Time Enterprise Zone, and led the feasibility study behind the Bristol Music Fund, winner of the 2026 Music Cities Award for Music Policy. Separately, she led Bristol's City Centre Cultural & Community Space Strategy, making the case for cultural and community space to be built into the city's development and planning decisions. She's especially drawn to giving young people a real say in how city centres are planned after dark – her collaboration with We Rise youth agency won the 2024 NLA Young Londoners Award.