The Government published the full details of the requirements for local councils to submit their offical bids for City Status at the 2012 Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations.
The announcement was made by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and contains detailed instructions for Councils to follow when submitting the town’s bid. The closing date for council submissions in 4pm on 27th May 2011.
This link http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/honours/7610.aspx explains who can make the bids, current UK Cities, and answers some common questions people have surrounding what a town needs to qualify for the honour.
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. We ran a story a while ago about the Scottish National Party campaigning for there to be 4 Cities chosen for the accolade in 2012 (http://www.thecityofreading.com/2010/10/16/scottish-national-party-back-%e2%80%9cfour-cities%e2%80%9d-campaign/). This would have ensured that there would have been at least one City from England that would be given the honour. However, from reviewing the publication from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, it now looks as though it will only be one town from the whole of the UK that will win the prize. This will make the competition even more intense, as there are strong candidates from each of the 4 corners of the UK.
The winner will be chosen by Her Majesty, has 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.
So what are the guidelines? What do the 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, which is in this link Civic-Honours-Entry-Guidelines.
The Key points for the Entry are as follows:
- Entries must be made by the local authority
- Entries must be submitted by 4pm on Friday 27th 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 residence, and it’s association with Royalty.
- 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
- 2 MAPS showing the area and the “City Centre”
- 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
- Visitor Accommodation
- Public Green Spaces
- 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.
So as you can see, there is a huge amount to consider when submitting this bid. We have heard several times, people asking why are Reading going for it in the first place? Well there are numerous reasons. This honour is only bestowed on minimal Royal Occasions, so therefore the “UK Cities Club” is an exclusive one as the past competition were 2000, and 2002 being the most recent. As there is likely to be only ONE winner from the UK Reading faces stiff competition.
The winner will get increased publicity, increased economic investment, tourism, amongst many other hidden rewards for winning this competition. Reading is the largest UK town that is not a City, and that is just to start.
If you live in Reading, you will know that it has so much to offer the residence, not to mention the numerous people of the South who flock to the town for shopping, leisure and nights out.
So if Reading are to secure this great honour, the town Council cannot do it on there own. We all need to take pride in where we live and show the rest of the UK that we truly deserve the City title.
Over the coming months we will be asking, the people of Reading to tell us, the town, and the council what you would put forward in your bid, what photos you would show, and why you think that Reading should be given City Status.
The whole purpose of this website is that it is “by the people…for the people” and we feel that the towns bid also be by the people, as it is for the benefit of the people. So please submit your stories, article, ideas, group information, photos to contactus@thecityofreading.com to help the bid team win this competition for Reading!
Remember people this is your Town, let’s make it your City!
I fail to be convinced Reading should be given city status. There are many reasons and here are a handful -
1)The first thing you see when you come into Reading from the station is a horrid array of derelict buildings that have been abandoned since the Top Rank closed down. This also sprouting from a run down/derelict bus depot that needs serious regeneration and never gets it. Its an eye sore.
2)Where is the theatre, concert hall or cathedral?.
3)An endless array of bars, cafes and clubs that seem to suck all the art and life out of the town there once used to be (remember the 80s Target, Fives Bar and Gunn Street??- there was more life there than the whole of the town today!)
4)There are no interesting historical or cultural heritage sites that attract alternative creative artists like in Bath or Brighton and that’s the problem. And please don’t mention the over priced festival that has NO AFFECT ON THE TOWN WHATSOEVER!
5)Where are all the artists and musicians??????????
There used to be so many street painters, buskers and performing artists but they were driven away by the councils Oracle bid to ‘modernise’ the town. Yes we got ‘modernized’ but we lost all our culture too!
Reading simply is a town and always will be. It simply cannot qualify for city status because it just ain’t interesting enough and the main problem is the lack of culture.
It is however surrounded by great countryside and is ideal if you’re a Mt Biker like me and want to escape its dullhood for the hills!
How can we possibly call it a city if we don’t have a theatre, a concert hall, or an art gallery? And if we keep destroying anything of architectural or historic value and replacing it with retail sheds or dual carriageways? Before Reading can be a city, it needs to behave like a city and look like a city.
I grew up in Reading in the 80′s and then moved away but always look back on the place with very fond memories….guess thats looking through rose tinted specs of childhood!
Having visited the town again last summer after many years and now looking at the place from a more detached (almost outsiders point of view) I can see some great stuff and some not so great stuff.
The pedestrianised Broad street is great!
The Oracle centre is impressive (but the same as all the other major malls around the UK).
The Forbury Gardens still look great.
But on the down side The Hexagon,Friar street and Station Hill are all looking run down and neglected.
The plans to redevelop the station Hill area somehow look very good, but Reading also needs to be careful not to end up like any other town. The UK now has so many of these newly developed areas with offices and large open squares….which just end up as windy ‘Nothing spaces’….get some more green spaces in the centre instead!
Getting more business into the town is of course incredibly important, but nowadays that inevitably meens building anonymous office blocks to be occupied by anonymous companies….it leaves the whole town feeling a bit bland and errr anonymous !
There are towns around the UK where you can sense the people living there have real civic pride in the place but if you read through peoples comments here and in the local news papers in Reading, I always get the impression that people either don’t care or actually dont like the town….real shame.
I say this not to criticise Reading, but because im still very fond of the place and I wish more people were too!
Not sure Reading is ready to be classed as a City yet….Id concentrate on getting the people living there loving the place as a great town with character first.
I would say that Reading could be in with the best chance of getting this, but then there are towns like Colchester, which are looking into applying. Colchester is the oldest town in Britain and formally the capital in Roman times. It is the fastest-growing borough (pop. 181,000 est 2010) in the country, and the second largest non-metropolitan district in England, after Northampton and not to be a city. Then, there is the fact that it has many royal connections, a university and is an important Garrison town. It has splendid attractions and is a real tourist mecca, which is also going for World Heritage Site status.
Touché Observer, hmm maybe getting city status would help to sort out the Abbey ruins. I’m beginning to be turned round by an intelligent argument.
Hello getmeoutofhere. Hopefully you have seen the article http://www.thecityofreading.com/2010/12/09/middlesbrough-business-forum-outline-why-city-status-is-so-important-to-them/ which shows what benefits the Business Forum in Middlesbrough think will occur if they win City Status. There are many benefits of winning this award, and as you have said, at the moment, Abbey Ruins is in need of further finance to allow it to be open for the public. We are going to be compiling a list of things that the Reading People would want to be done if we gain City Status in 2012. So apart from investment in Abbey Ruins, can you think of anything else you would like to see investment in?
Reading is a city in all but name; its population alone almost certainly justifies this, yet it has so much more to offer beyond this.
Historically, Reading as been closely linked to Royalty(Which is part of the city criteria), with the central Abbey being used as a Royal Palace through parts of the middle ages The area has a long and rich history that perhaps needs to be advertised and utilized to a greater degree then is happening presently.
In the past 10 or so years a lot of exciting developments have complemented this past, suggesting a bright future. I’m talking about the continued growth and success of the world famous Reading festival, success and establishment of the football club, the London Irish Rugby club and one of the south’s leading half marathons. Only 6 months ago the Reading Climbing Centre opened and is rapidly building a reputation as one of the best indoor walls in the country.
Investment in key infrastructure such as £60 million in Junction 11 of the M4 and £800 million in the station has either been completed or is well underway. I think Reading has a very strong case, so there you go, a cocky little counter argument getmeoutofhere.
I live in a ‘nice’ part of Reading, it is a very quiet area very pleasant in fact. I have lived in one of the ‘worst’ parts of Reading beginning with W… (and we all know where they are) so that has nothing to do with my opinion. I just fail to see when looking at the criteria for becoming a city how Reading could and would qualify.
@getmeoutofhere
2005 Reading was voted the highest quality of life by an independent poll. In 2007 it was Wokingham. I believe that you must live in the worst part of Reading (every town and city has them) not to be able to enjoy the benefits of living in Reading (Close to London but far enough away, good high paid jobs, 50mins from the coast, good rail links etc. etc.) The only thing that I agree with is the congestion, but that cant be helped living in a built up area.
Yes that is ‘fantastic’ however the moment Reading becomes a city, housing prices will go up especially near the centre of Reading. I also disagree that Reading is a great place to live, its an ugly hole there is nothing to do unless you enjoy getting paralytic, watching the traffic on the IDR, or visiting a bland boring high street that has no soul and is exactly the same as every other high street throughout the land.
Reading is not a city, and it does not deserve to be a city, it is a town, always will be.
“getmeoutofhere” Sounds like you have very strong views about the City Status bid and Reading in general. I have lived in Reading all my life, and over the years have grown to love the place. Once you have had the opportunity to explore Reading fully, and speak with people from the different walks of life that live in the town I think that it gives people a perspective of what Reading really has to offer. From an outsiders viewpoint, Reading is the best place to get work in the UKm there is currently work redeveloping brownsite areas such as the area around Reading Station, and the creation of landmarks for future such as the “Reading City Gateway”. But if nothing else, this bid is costing the people of the town nothing, but will give them the ability to say they live and work in a City. So please peeps, back the bid and keep the good stories coming in.
I have lived in Reading for 25 years, City status will do nothing except give us a label as the one of the worst city’s in England, I’d prefer us to be the country’s largest town. Yes you are right in saying that there is relatively low unemployment in Reading, and we are very lucky in that respect.
Oh and the live in a city remark, yes people will love saying that when rental prices go through the roof, and people are priced out of the hosing market, I cant wait!
We have no trouble attracting businesses into Reading, so city status will not affect that. We have nothing to offer tourists, and I mean nothing. Apart from horrendous congestion on Readings roads.
@Del boy
Reading has NEVER been voted a best place to live ever.
Ever since I have been growing up Reading has been threatening to become a city. I can’t see why it has not been given the status a long time ago. I do remember Reading being voted the best place to live in the country 5 years ago. Back the bid!
Reading is definately a “city in waiting”!
What makes it great for me?
-Its the major shopping destination in the area. Only rivalled by Oxford, London, Guildford – which are already cities
-Its got great sport. Reading FC, London Irish, Speedway to mention a few
-The Reading Festival makes it famous. What other towns do we know that can hold that sort of event!
- Plus a respected Uni, not to mention the diverse culture, fabulous location, brilliant job opportunities!
The only thing that lets Reading down in the traffic and maybe once its made city status the council can sort it out once and for all! ha ha