DROITWICH will be looking to showcase what it has to offer to the country as it announced it will be bidding to become the UK’s first-ever town of culture.
Droitwich town councillors on the community and amenities committee agreed to work with the Droitwich Spa Place Board to put forward an expression of interest to become the town of culture for 2028, with the grand prize, if successful, being a £3million cash injection to deliver its programme.
The Town of Culture scheme was announced by the Department for Media, Culture and Sport last month, with the aim of celebrating the significant contributions of towns to our national story and giving the chance for smaller areas of the country to tell their story.
The bid will focus on continuing to carry out the Droitwich Spa town centre prospectus, which looks to promote and develop the town as an attractive hub for leisure, living and business.
An expression of interest will need to be submitted by March 31, with the town council hoping a draft will be ready by March 17.
From there, bid development grants of £60,000 will be awarded to each of the shortlisted places, which are invited to submit a full application.
This cash could be used for research and development for the bid, as well as consultation costs, human resources, data gathering, and commercial expertise.
One small, medium and large-sized town would then be shortlisted as finalists.
The winning town will be awarded £3 million to deliver a cultural programme in 2028 of around six months.
The two finalists from their category will receive £250,000 each to deliver elements of their bid.
Coun Richard Morris said: “Droitwich has a rich history and a fantastic community with many events to support an application.
“We are famous for the Rik Mayall comedy festival, a traditional and evolving series of festivals and activities, street art and murals, nationally recognised mosaics at Sacred Heart, John Heminge, co-editor of the First Folio, the collected plays of Shakespeare, and our Norbury Theatre and many great local societies and groups.
“In my view, Droitwich already is a well known Town of culture, but to be nationally recognised as such would be fantastic.”
Coun Alex Sinton added: “We’re not going to get too excited about this, but we’ve spotted a way to put forward the high profile of the town.
“There is a lot to base it on, and I think that if we don’t try, we don’t succeed. There are hundreds of towns, but it was worth putting something forward.”
