Business leaders call for culture bid rethink

Leading members of Lancashire’s business community are calling on the county council to review its shock decision to withdraw from the UK Capital of Culture bidding process.

The announcement to pull out of a contest that supporters say could have seen Lancashire win a prestigious title generating more than £200m of economic benefits was made yesterday.

The chief executive of private sector lobby group Downtown in Business, Frank McKenna, said: “I hope that the county council will reconsider their decision.

“In addition to the huge financial boost a successful bid would bring to the county, there has undoubtedly already been benefits from putting this bid together.

“We have seen collaboration across Lancashire like never before, with the public, private, and third sectors uniting behind what is an innovative and dynamic project.

“You only have to look down the road to Liverpool to see how a focus on your cultural assets can catapult a place and act as a catalyst for economic growth.

“I appreciate the financial pressures local authorities are under at the moment, but I think this is a case of ‘penny wise, pound foolish’. I would urge councillors to think again.”

The chair of the 2025 City of Culture bid and Marketing Lancashire, Tony Attard, added: “The idea for Lancashire to become City of Culture 2025 is a journey that has matured over four years.

“A significant amount of work has been undertaken by many talented people from across the public and private sectors.

“It has involved considerable research and liaison with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the present incumbent, Coventry CoC 2021.

“Coventry has received over £100m in infrastructure spend and expects £200m from an increase in tourism of a million visitors.

“Culture is a catalyst for change, and it will send a strong message to all that the county is determined to raise living standards, wellbeing and encourage learning and skills.

“Even at this late stage, I would hope that Lancashire County Council has a change of heart and sees the wider benefits of a bid that, we know, has a very good chance of success.”

The chair of Downtown in Business, Lancashire and Preston entrepreneur, Rob Binns, said: “This is a baffling decision that sends all the wrong messages to our business community, the government and potential investors.

“We are either an optimistic, confident county that has the ability to deliver major national events or we are a parochial place that is inward looking and lacking in ambition.

“We really do need to think of the wider, negative implications that pulling this bid will have.”

The decision to withdraw has been made by the county council just three weeks before an official expression of interest was due to be submitted.

Lancashire has been working on a county-wide bid, with organisers and experts drafted in to the bid team saying their mission was to produce an “ambitious, inclusive cultural programme”.

The decision to withdraw was made amid concerns about the financial underwriting of the bid and the potential exposure of the local authority to risk.

In a statement Councillor Alan Vincent, council deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, said: “We have carefully considered the potential costs and benefits of the bid and have decided that Lancashire County Council can no longer underwrite it.

“We know this will be disappointing to those who have worked so hard on this project over the past couple of years, but feel it is the right decision for Lancashire County Council.

“Whilst the proposal was strong and ambitious, we felt that underwriting the bid to the tune of up to £22m created too great a financial risk to the council at a time when there are significant pressures on services and our costs, and continuing financial uncertainty following the pandemic.

“Lancashire County Council remains committed to an ongoing programme of arts and culture which is both good for the county's residents and local economy.

“We are continuing to work towards sustainable and reinvigorated offers for our museums and we are fully committed to cultural services across Lancashire. We will also continue to invest in our libraries and support innovative schemes such as the Re-imagining the Harris project in Preston.

“We will seek to adopt elements from the proposal as we develop a new culture and sport strategy in the coming months and years.”

Lancashire Business View understands that the opposition Labour group at County Hall is calling for an emergency meeting of the full council following the announcement.

Lancashire had been developing a “virtual city” vision for the 2025 bid, with communities across the county urged to get involved.

The UK City of Culture 2025 bid is being delivered by the DCMS. It says the competition will use culture as a “catalyst for levelling up areas outside London and put culture at the heart of their plans to recover from the impact of the pandemic.”

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