Disappointment as towns miss out on culture prize

"Disappointed - but we will build on it" seems to be the main take from those who made bids to get three towns shortlisted for the inaugural UK Town of Culture award 2028.

Fifteen towns were shortlisted last week, however neither Slough, Woodley or Newbury made the cut - the winner will be announced next year.

Vineet Vijh from Viva Slough who was leading the bid for Slough in the large towns category said everyone was "very disappointed".

"It was all done by people giving their time for free but we are now even more determined to make Slough an amazing place to live," he said.

Vijh cited several reasons why he thought Slough's bid should have been successful but said he wasn't thinking of making another bid.

"We are a town of pioneers and if you go back in history, this is where a number of new things originated from," he said.

"The different types of communities that live here and get along here is another big strength - the creative potential of this town is unparalleled.

"We now have ambitions for making Slough into a creative hub, where art and culture is embedded into every person's psyche and use that as a means of economic development over the next 10 years."

Brian Fennelly, Woodley Town Centre Manager helped put their bid forward in the medium towns category.

It's disappointing - we were keen to sell Woodley's uniqueness," he said.

"We feel that the community spirit and the cultural opportunities that we offer is our key point but we are keen to enter the next competition if there is one."

Newbury also put itself forward for the medium towns category and councillor Nigel Foot believed they had a "lot to offer" but would see how their bid can be improved in the future.

"We are definitely disappointed," he said.

Newbury is an old established town, going back to Norman Times - Thomas Hardy wrote about us. We have a thriving cultural scene, the whole package, but we'll learn from it."

Jeanette Howse, Business Development Executive at Tourism South East says she was surprised no Berkshire towns made the short-list.

"I would have thought at least one of them would have got into the last fifteen but I am also surprised some of the other towns didn't put in a bid," she said.

Kath Wynne-Hague, head of culture at Hull City Council played a key role in her city winning UK City of Culture award in 2017.

She said it took a lot of community engagement and celebrating the small stories as well as the big ones to achieve their success.

"It's a huge effort to deliver a year of culture whether it's a city or a town, so ensuring you keep that energy going forward is really important," she said.

"Having witnessed what this award does to a place I am now a firm believer of how important it is to the local community."

Shortlisted towns will now receive £60,000 each to develop their full bids, which will be assessed by the independent judging panel.

One finalist will then be selected from each category with the overall winner being announced early next year.

The competition is part of the government's ambition to restore pride in local areas in every part of Britain and deliver a decade of national renewal, following the announcement of the Pride in Place Programme last year.