Lib Dem Leader, Cllr. Jeremy Hilton said:
“The Tories have been obsessed for some time about a city of culture bid, despite senior officers at the city council saying that such a project was ‘all consuming’. It’s obvious they didn’t even have the resources to put in an expression of interest by the 19th of July.
This ‘vanishing council’ has recently lost two senior directors. It’s clear there was no-one available to write the bid document. The latest example of the negative impact of the Tory cuts.
“Following the debacle of the Marketing Gloucester scandal, Lib Dem councillors were very sceptical that there was the capacity or competence to deliver such a project over the next few years. At least the Tories finally got the message. Don’t take on projects unless you can deliver them.”
Gloucester City Council Press Statement Wednesday 21st July 2021
Gloucester City Council and Gloucester Cultural Trust will not be submitting an Expression of Interest for the 2025 City of Culture but will instead be focusing efforts on the city’s cultural recovery.
A joint statement on behalf of the two organisations said: “While the City of Culture title undoubtedly brings new opportunities and Gloucester was proposing a truly ambitious cross-county approach we have decided on reflection to concentrate our resources on delivering the city’s cultural recovery and existing projects that we are committed to, whilst supporting the fantastic work that has been done to grow Gloucester’s creative communities.
The bid process requires significant resources and it has been decided to focus that energy and investment into the recovery of the city following the challenges of the pandemic. However, the conversations which have taken place around creative collaboration across the county are set to continue as will the work to invest in local artists, performers and producers to nurture our emerging talents. We are proud to already have fantastic cultural events and activities in the city which will be further boosted by the regeneration of Kings Square into a world class events space and the launching of Jolt artist studios and entrepreneurial hub later this year.
We’d like to thank all those partners and supporters who have come together to offer their support and hope to be able to harness that enthusiasm as we continue to develop the cultural scene and recovery in Gloucester.”
Future cultural projects include
· Launch of Jolt on Kings Square as the city’s primary cultural industries incubation space and development of King’s House as a cultural ‘hotspot’ within the city with The Music Works facilities for accessible music production and skills development
· Cultural Development Fund (CDF) bid focused on developing the Guildhall arts and culture venue
· Delivering the city’s revised Cultural Strategy with a particular focus on developing the cultural infrastructure and local creative capacity
· Growing and developing Gloucester’s events and festivals programme including Kings Jam, The Rooftop Festival, Tall Ships, Gloucester Carnival, Gloucester History Festival and The Three Choirs
· Establishing King’s Square as a world class events space with a vibrant programme of events and activities
· Work with established and emerging cultural groups such as Strike a Light and artists developing talent which reflects the diversity of the city