Redruth 'very disappointed' by failed culture bid

Six Cornish towns are commiserating after failing to progress in their bid to become a Town of Culture.

The government announced the shortlist of 15 towns on Thursday which included Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast - almost 400 towns submitted bids.

The Cornish towns which failed to get chosen were Penzance, Helston, Falmouth, Redruth, Newquay and Marazion.

In Redruth, the bid was a joint effort between the town council and cultural groups, and Mayor Alison Biscoe said she was surprised and "very disappointed" the town didn't get further.

She said: "I know how much hard work everybody's put into this - it brought together the town and it came up with ideas, they were really, really strong ideas and good ones.

"We're just an amazing place to live - it's coming up in the world, our festivals are flying high and it recognised that we are a town that is going forward and we are innovative and we are looking at culture as a way to go."

Towns that apply have a chance to become the UK's first Town of Culture in 2028, with the winner awarded £3m and the chance to showcase cultural events during the year.

Redruth's town clerk Charlotte Williams said the town were "bitterly disappointed" but that it would "definitely rise again" in the future.

She said: "We were looking to provide new festivals, new creative industry opportunities for young people, more opportunities for theatre, drama, crafts, art, and also the library.

"There's deep veins of culture that have obviously run through Redruth heritage and history, and we absolutely won't be dampened by this."

Biscoe added: "Everybody who took part and put their hat in the ring for it had a genuine love for this town."

Williams said it planned to work with the cultural consortium and partners to "hopefully rejuvenate some of the ideas within the bid and bring some them forward".

She said: "It will just take a little bit longer obviously without the funding but we hope to go again at the next opportunity.

"We really will take this on the chin, re-group, be gracious in defeat and look at what we can do next as a town.

"We've got lots of new ideas so we're certainly going to make sure that we get those moving forward."

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