Evesham Place Board Submits Bid for UK Town of Culture Status
The Evesham Place Board are pleased to announce that, on behalf of Evesham Town Council, it has submitted a bid for the first ever national Town of Culture programme, recognising the opportunity the initiative presents to celebrate Evesham’s rich heritage, creative talent and community spirit.
At this stage, the submission is an Expression of interest and was undertaken by a small working group made up of representatives of the Town Council, Wychavon District Council and the Place Board. Given the time frame, targeted consultation was undertaken with wider stakeholders and further developed using existing evidence, previous community conversations, and the Board’s ongoing work with local partners across culture, business and the voluntary sector. It continues to strengthen and reflect on long standing ambitions to support cultural participation, town centre vitality and inclusive growth.
Charlotte Hampson, Vice Chair of Evesham Place Board said:
‘We are hopeful that we will be shortlisted for the next round and at that point, we will be undertaking a meaningful and inclusive community engagement process. We would like to also note that, as with all the work that is undertaken by the Place Board, we endeavour to retain the benefit it can have to the town and this is no exception. Given the work that has gone into this Expression of Interest, regardless of the outcome, we will look to use this as a launch point for driving forward a more robust, cultural strategy for the town.’
The Board would like to thank partners who supported the development of the bid at short notice and looks forward to continuing conversations about Evesham’s cultural future, regardless of the outcome.
If you would like to read the ‘Cultural Vision’ submitted for the town, this can be found here: Town of Culture Bid
More information about the first ever UK Town of Culture competition can be found on the Government’s Arts and Culture webpages - www.gov.uk/government/news/first-ever-uk-town-of-culture-competition-to-restore-pride-in-communities