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City of Culture bid must
be justified, Carlisle council leader told Conservative Mr Mitchelson agreed to take part in a live web chat on the web site of The Cumberland News. From the start, he was forced to defend the council’s decision to back Carlisle Renaissance’s bid to put Carlisle forward as the first UK City of Culture in 2013. The Cumberland News revealed last week that official estimates show the host city will have to find £10m. Save Our Streets campaigner Julie Templeton asked: “How can he justify spending £10m when his own staff are facing pay cuts and redundancy, and services are under threat?” Mr Mitchelson responded: “We are not committing to spend £10m of council funds. “That [figure] has been suggested by the Department for Culture Media and Sport. The council will not be responsible for £10m of spend.” He added that money was already being spent on culture by “a large number of stakeholders”, and funding for the City of Culture could come from “a wide range of sources”. Dan Gibson, perhaps alluding to the lack of a purpose-built theatre, asked if Carlisle needed to develop new venues “to make us a real candidate”. But Mr Mitchelson argued that venues were not crucial to the bid’s success. He said: “Part of the reason for looking at the City of Culture bid is to create the wide debate on culture. This is firstly identifying the wide range of activities already in existence and seeing how we can develop them.” Mr Mitchelson was also asked to justify the “enormous salaries” of senior officers. He said the council had to offer the “market rate”. He also dealt with questions about Rickerby Park, a proposed student village in Denton Holme, local government reorganisation, planning policy and Carlisle’s successful bid for growth-point status allowing 600 new homes to be built each year. Martin G, frustrated at signals that planning officers will oppose Sainsbury’s plans for a store in Caldewgate, asked: “Why does the council seem willing to jeopardise Sainsbury’s, and the hundreds of jobs it would bring, but [is] happy to spend millions on tenuous plans involving Tesco [at] The Viaduct and Morton?” Mr Mitchelson responded: “Any planning application will be dealt with on its merits in an open way in line with national guidance and planning policies.” The council leader was also asked if Carlisle Renaissance, launched as a response to the 2005 floods, has been value for money so far. He said: “A judgement needs to be taken in five to 10 years. Right from the start, it was clearly stated we were working to a 10-to-20 year agenda. “A great deal of work has been done, the results of which should begin to happen in the next few years.” In all Mr Mitchelson answered 22 questions in the hour-long web chat, the first involving a senior council politician in Cumbria. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle facing £10 million bill for
City of Culture success Official documents seen by The Cumberland News show that the winning city will have to find the cash to stage events and publicise its new status. There is no government money on offer and no suggestion as to where the £10m might come from. When Liverpool was European Capital of Culture in 2008, its city council had to meet three-quarters of the cost. Mike Mitchelson, the Conservative leader of Carlisle City Council, played down fears that Carlisle might have to do the same. He said: “There is no speculation as to what local authorities might pay. Our bid will cover the range of events that Carlisle would be able to put on and what the funding streams might be. The bid will have to fit the finances available.” Bryan Gray, chairman of Carlisle Renaissance, was on the working party that produced the City of Culture report. He argues that this is not the time to dwell on who will pay if Carlisle’s bid succeeds. He said: “To get hung up about the cost is the wrong way of looking at it. We will have to cut our cloth according to what we’ve got. If we get City of Culture, there is no money that comes with it but there are opportunities. It’s a really good return on investment.” Carlisle faces competition from potentially 27 locations to become UK City of Culture. Contenders include Chester, Brighton, County Durham, Oxford and Manchester. However, Bath, one of the early runners, has already pulled out because of concerns about the cost. Cumbria County Council has distanced itself from the Carlisle bid, put forward by Carlisle Renaissance, describing it as a “distraction”. Renaissance is working with the city council, University of Cumbria and other groups to put a bid together by the deadline of December 11. Michael Boaden, leader of the council’s Labour opposition, questions whether the authority should be involved. He said: “We shouldn’t be embarking on a speculative bid without a clear idea of the costs to the council. We will be writing a blank cheque.” The estimate is in a working group report prepared in June for the Department of Culture Media and Sport. It says £10m would be enough to “stage a small number of events” and run “promotional campaigns to attract visitors”. The city of culture title will be conferred every four years. The winner will host high-profile events, which might include the 2013 Turner Prize, The Brit Awards and BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The report adds: “It would not be helpful, and could be misleading, to estimate what percentage [of the £10m] would come from the host city itself.” Mr Gray added: “Improving the city’s cultural offer makes it a better place to live and makes it more attractive to visitors. There is a strong economic argument.” A short list for City of Culture will be published in January and the winner announced at Easter. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle must grow to fulfil its potential,
says agency chief That is the view of Robert Hough, the new chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency. His views carry clout. The NWDA, as it is more often known, has an annual budget of £421m. Virtually all major public-sector investment projects depend on its support. Through its offshoot, Cumbria Vision, the NWDA underwrites Carlisle Renaissance, the Energy Coast Masterplan Derwent Forest and more. If Carlisle ever gets a new theatre or succeeds in its City of Culture bid, then NWDA money will be involved. Mr Hough took up the post in August, taking over from Bryan Gray who is now chairman of Carlisle Renaissance. He is right behind the city council’s economic strategy, which calls for a substantial growth in the population, perhaps to 150,000 by 2050. Mr Hough said: “A city like Carlisle should be able to create its own critical mass. “The economic activity that critical mass provides is a driver for wealth creation and economic prosperity. “It’s a wise move as long as [growth] is properly controlled, as I’m sure it will be.” Cumbria under-performs the north west in terms of gross value added, the statistic used to measure economic output. Mr Hough thinks that is as much a reflection of the strength of Manchester and Liverpool than any weakness in the Cumbrian economy. He said: “Cumbria has to build on its strengths – the nuclear industry, tourism, the rural economy and the potential of Carlisle.” Mr Hough, 64, is a lawyer by profession and a director of Peel Holdings, the owner of Liverpool Airport. He is enthusiastic about plans to bring passenger flights to Carlisle Airport. “To have an airport is desirable,” he said. “They are great catalysts for growth and in this case would bring more visitors.” He is also adamant that any high-speed rail link to Scotland should have a stop in Carlisle and has already been lobbying to achieve that. He says it as a myth that Cumbria doesn’t get its fair share of the NWDA cake. It has seven per cent of the north west’s population but receives nine per cent of the NWDA’s spending – £78 per head of population – in addition to region-wide programmes. Behind the scenes, Mr Hough says, it brought in extra money after foot and mouth and, more recently, helped re-start the stalled Carlisle Northern Development Route and Penrith New Squares schemes. He added: “We’re not here to put our name up in lights. We’re here to make a difference.” He made a plea for patience with Carlisle Renaissance. The scheme was launched in response to the 2005 floods but there is, as yet, nothing to show for it. MP Eric Martlew has criticised the lack of progress. Mr Hough said: “All these schemes take time. Eighty per cent of any scheme is preparation, 20 per cent delivery. It’s important to get things right.” The NWDA was set up in 1999, along with other regional development agencies, as New Labour’s ‘big idea’ to revive the English regions. Mr Hough will spend three years as chairman, assuming the NWDA isn’t abolished by an incoming Conservative government determined to slim down the public sector. Predictably, he thinks that would be a mistake. “The north west is a complex region of 7m people,” he said. “That requires a strategic understanding, and that won’t be achieved by a fragmented approach that doesn’t allow the whole region to be looked at.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle Renaissance wants cultural events details The move follows a recent Cultural Conversations event in which different organisations debated projects which could make Carlisle’s creative industries a magnet for visitors, businesses and investors. Ian McNichol, director of Carlisle Renaissance, said: “We're asking people to let us know of cultural activities that they're aware of already taking place in the city and the villages and towns around it. “These can be anything from village fêtes to live music in the heart of Carlisle. “We have a diverse cultural offer here. We want to capture it all in the bid so we give the city the best possible shot at this prize. “City of Culture brings momentum to work to celebrate and build on Carlisle's culture, and give residents greater opportunities to enjoy cultural activities. “It will also help us grow into an area with a thriving tourism, education, and creative sector and clout in attracting new investment.” Cultural activities may be musical, related to the arts, sport, literature, performance, or lifestyle – however people choose to define culture. To help shape the bid email Carlisle Renaissance at info@carlislerenaissance.co.uk or call 01228 817309, or write to them at the Civic Centre. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle council agrees to back UK city of culture
bid Carlisle Renaissance has put the city’s name forward amid ridicule from some that the city should take on cultural heavyweights such as Oxford and Manchester. Cumbria County Council, for one, argues that a bid would be “a distraction”. But the city council’s executive enthusiastically backed the proposal yesterday. Councillor Gareth Ellis, the portfolio holder for culture, said: “It is an opportunity for us to use a historical setting, the arts and sport to change the perception of Carlisle. “We have to say to tourists and students that Carlisle is a great place with a rich future. “The city of culture bid is viable because, although we have much to do, Carlisle has great potential.” Council leader Mike Mitchelson said: “It’s important that we seize the opportunity. Yes, it is very aspirational but what we have to look at is what we want for Carlisle. “We need to change the perception of Carlisle and develop a lively, vibrant city. “A lot of people underestimate how much cultural activity goes on here.” Carlisle faces competition from potentially 28 other locations including Chester, Brighton, County Durham, Oxford and Manchester, which have all expressed interest. The intention is that the UK city of culture title will be conferred every four years. It will not bring any official funding but should boost investment by providing £100m in free publicity. And the winner will host high-profile events in 2013 including the Turner Prize, Brits and TV Baftas. Areas, which need not be cities, have until December 11 to put their names forward. The city council is already working with Carlisle Renaissance, the University of Cumbria and other groups to put a bid together. A shortlist will be announced in January and the winner at Easter. Carlisle’s bid is doomed to fail according to Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. It is offering odds of 33/1 that Carlisle would take the prize – placing the city joint bottom with Hull (whose odds have shortened from 50/1 when the list was announced), Wakefield and Chorley. Manchester is favourite with odds of 4/1. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] |
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