Black Country leaders blast judges for Town of Culture snub

Civic leaders in the Black Country have said it is ‘ridiculous’ that nowhere in the West Midlands made the shortlist for the contest to find Britain’s first Town of Culture.

A total of 37 towns in the West Midlands submitted bids for the competition, which was announced last year to run alongside the existing City of Culture competition.

But no town in the region made the shortlist of 15.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, leader of Wolverhampton Council and deputy regional mayor for the West Midlands, had backed his home town of Bilston for the competition.

He said he was amazed that no town at all in the West Midlands had made the cut, but pledged to carry on fighting for Bilston.

“It’s an absolute disgrace, we have got so much to offer, we’re a gateway to Wales and to the North as well,” he said.

“We will carry on regardless, our town is the greatest town anywhere, it’s full of culture.

“It’s a shame we didn’t continue to the shortlist, Bilston and Wolverhampton have got more to offer than any other towns in the country.

“I’m really pleased we went for it, we did everything we could. We know in our hearts that we’re the best.”

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, said it was particularly unfortunate given that the announcement was made ahead of this month’s Black Country Festival. Dudley, Brierley Hill, Halesowen and Stourbridge had each made individual applications for the status.

Councillor Harley said: “That’s disgusting, that nowhere in the West Midlands has featured, when you think of the time of year with the Black Country Festival taking place and all the events that will take place.

“Out of all the places that applied, if they couldn’t find anywhere out of those, that’s ridiculous.”

Stafford, and Burntwood also submitted bids, along with Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Warwick and Ludlow.

Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham were the four ‘large towns’ to make the shortlist, with Corby, Great Yarmouth, Lieth, Pontypridd and Port Talbot being selected for the ‘medium towns’ category. Ilfracombe, the Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton town centre were the chosen ‘small towns’.

Each of these will now receive a £60,000 grant to submit a formal bid for the next stage of the competition.

The Government said 400 towns applied to the competition, demonstrating that culture belonged everywhere and shone a light on the many towns across the UK that were vital to the nation’s story.