An ambitious bid to make Richmond the UK’s Town of Culture has been launched - with Rishi's support.
The plan is to win a nationwide competition to benefit from £3.5m to stage a programme of cultural events during the summer of 2028.
The competition, based on the long-established City of Culture competition, has been launched by the Government and is aimed at small and medium-sized towns.
The bid is being led by the Richmond Yorkshire Community Interest Company (CIC) which has organised a public meeting for local people to find out more, put forward ideas and get involved at Richmond Town Hall at 6.15pm on Wednesday, January 14.
Marcia McLuckie, a director of the Richmond CIC, said the detailed criteria the Government would use to assess bids had not been released yet but based on the existing City of Culture programme she was confident that Richmond could put together a competitive bid.
She said: “We think Richmond aligns well with the criteria we believe will be used. It has a place in our national story, it has a strong cultural presence and a proven track record for staging community cultural initiatives.”
She said the intention was to make Richmond the central hub for the bid but also involve communities in the Swale Valley such as Reeth, Aldbrough-St-John and Kiplin.
As well as putting together a compelling programme of events for 2028, Mrs McLuckie said the bid team would be focussed on ensuring a long-lasting legacy of benefits for the town.
She added: “We think it is important that it is not thought of as a one-off, flash-in-the-pan and that the bid, successful or not, helps to involve more people in the cultural life of the town for many years to come.”
Rishi recently met members of the CIC preparing the bid and said he would be formally supporting the application. He said: “I commend the bid team’s ambition for the town. It will be very competitive, of course, but few towns have Richmond’s historic and cultural assets and, just as importantly, the people with the commitment and skills to put together a programme of events we can all be part of and proud of.”
The Government announced in October that the winning UK Town of Culture would be awarded £3.5m to help it deliver a cultural programme during the summer of 2028, harnessing what makes the town special. Shortlisted towns would receive £60,000 to help deliver full bids for the competition.
