CITY STATUS – UPDATE

Members will recall that a report on recent events on the issue of Medway Council’s proposed bid for City Status appeared in the last issue of the Newsletter. This article brings members up-to-date

The Government has now published the full details of the requirements for local councils to submit their official bids for City Status. The winner will be announced as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration in 2012.

The announcement was made by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and contains detailed instructions for councils to follow when submitting their bid. The closing date for council submissions is 4 pm on 27 May 2011.

The Government has set out who can make the bid, a list of current UK cities, and answers some common questions people have surrounding what a town needs to qualify for the honour of City Status. It also confirms that it is more than likely that only ONE town in the whole of the UK will be chosen to be a city. This will make the competition even more intense, as there are strong candidates from each of the four corners of the UK.

The winner, to be chosen by Her Majesty, will have been passed from the Lord Chancellor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord President of the Council, Nick Clegg, assisted by the Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, Mark Harper. There are other members of the Government who will be involved in assessing the credentials and merits of each bid, and the winner is expected to be announced in the early months of 2012.

The Government have indicated that City Status has never been a right to be claimed by places fulfilling a list of criteria, as this might devalue the honour.

The Government has made it clear that a City does not have to have a cathedral.

Minister’s view is that places to be honoured for the Diamond Jubilee “should be vibrant, welcoming communities with interesting histories and distinct identities”

So what are the guidelines? What do Medway Council have to do in order to comply with the conditions of entry? Well the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have drawn up a set of guidelines detailing what the official entry should look like.

The Key points for the entry are as follows:

- Entries must be made by the local authority – normally in respect of the entire local authority area.

- Entries must be submitted by 4pm on Friday, 27 May 2011.

- An introduction of NO MORE THAN 5 PAGES explaining why the area deserves City Status, with reference to its age, distinct identity, history, traditions, famous residents and its association with Royalty and any other particularly distinctive features.

- A profile of the area of NO MORE THAN 20 PAGES detailing statistics of the area to assist in understanding its bid in relation to other areas.

- UP TO 50 PHOTOGRAPHS of permanent features of the area rather than people and events. The emphasis should be on giving a representative and reasonably comprehensive impression of the area – especially the part that would constitute “the city centre” – rather than photographic artistry.

- 2 MAPS showing the area and the “City Centre”. The outline map should show how the part that constitutes or would constitute “the city centre” sits within the local authority area as a whole. The more detailed map should show the main tourist/leisure/entertainment sites and green spaces accessible to the public. The main transport routes serving these, with an indication of services’ frequency, should either be shown on the detailed map or listed in an accompany document (no more than two A4 pages long).

- An account of the range, variety and appeal of community interest groups in the area along with membership details

- Examples of matters of interest and information such as:

Tourist attractions and places of interest including museums & art galleries

Visitor Accommodation

Public Green Places

Major events and if they are supported by the local authority

Sport and leisure facilities and if they are supported by the local authority

The voluntary sector and if they are supported by the local authority

Shopping Centres

- The Government do not want local authorities to incur costs during the compilation of their bid.

- Local authorities cannot submit DVD’s/CD’s in support of their bid.

Ministers take the view that places to be honoured with City Status “should have supplied convincing evidence of their ability to welcome people into their areas and to provide, promote or facilitate access to a wide variety of places, activities and events”. The Government has indicated that it would be helpful if local authorities could include statistical information on the resident population of their area, breaking this down between the main towns if the area includes more than one, and on economic activity, including the number of people who work (but do not reside) in the area.

The Government has indicated that the decision made by Her Majesty, under the Royal prerogative and on Ministerial advice, will be final and no reasons will be given to justify the decision. Also they have stated that no details will be given of the assessment process but that local authorities “may be assured that each entry will be considered ‘in the round’, on the merits of its contents rather than on the standard of presentation”. However, each local authority will be sent brief comments on its entry when the results of the competition are announced in 2012.

Members may be interested to know that following the Golden Jubilee City Status Competition, there are now 66 cities in the UK – 50 in England, 5 in Wales, 6 in Scotland and 5 in Northern Ireland. As we are all too well aware, this does not include Rochester.