Five towns vie for culture award millions

8 hours ago

Miles Davis,Devon political reporterand

Jonathan Morris,South West

Sidmouth is home to an annual folk festival

Kyle Baker Photography Morris dancers wearing multiple coloured rags and black top hats with feathers perform along Sidmouth seafront during the town's Folk Festival. The dancer nearest to the camera is wearing a black mask over his eyes. A crowd is watching the dancers. — Sidmouth is home to an annual folk festival

Five Devon towns have put in their bids for the first UK Town of Culture title, with £3m up for grabs to boost festivals, venues and community projects.

A shortlist for the UK Town of Culture competition will be announced in the spring, with each shortlisted community receiving £60,000 to help deliver full bids, with a winner announced early in 2027.

Ashburton and Buckfastleigh have joined forces for a joint bid that leans on a packed year-round arts scene, while Ilfracombe believes its dramatic history and striking modern art gives it a powerful story.

In Barnstaple, community energy is driving the bid, Sidmouth is pitching its mix of coastal beauty and festival culture, while Teignmouth hopes its creative identity and musical roots will help it stand out.

The Damien Hirst statue Verity stands over Ilfracombe harbour

The picture shows a huge seaside statue of a woman holding a sword straight up into the air. The figure stands on a plinth beside the water, with dramatic cliffs rising behind her. The sky is bright and clear, with a few clouds drifting over.
Two people are standing in the bottom left corner of the frame, looking up at the sculpture. — The Damien Hirst statue Verity stands over Ilfracombe harbour

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Charmaine Lovett, from the Ilfracombe bid, said the seaside town had a "huge amount of history", including shipwrecks and smugglers and battles at sea and lighthouses.

"We have got loads of things that have gone on here, and we would really love to celebrate that and really share that story," she said.

The town is also where the controversial Damien Hirst sculpture Verity towers over the harbour area.

On the south coast in Sidmouth, Hilary Nelson, from the town's bid, said: "We are really blessed with our location and we have the Unesco World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast here, but we are also really fortunate to have a thriving cultural scene including the annual folk festival."

Andy Williamson, from the Ashburton and Buckfastleigh bid, said the towns are full of culture

The picture shows a sunny street scene outside a historic-looking building with tall white columns. A bright yellow canopy is set up in front of the building, and people appear to be sitting underneath it, as if at a small market, café space or community event. In the foreground, a person is standing on the pavement wearing a colourful floral shirt and dark trousers, with their hands in their pockets. — Andy Williamson, from the Ashburton and Buckfastleigh bid, said the towns are full of culture

Peter Buffery of the Barnstaple bid, said the town had "loads going on for it".

"It has got arts organisations and community groups and it has recently had investment that has developed a new performing arts venue and new studios and workshop spaces," he said.

Sam Lock, from Teignmouth, said it should win "because it is already a really strong cultural identity shaped by its people and its heritage and its creativity".

"What this opportunity will give us is a chance to build on it, make it more accessible and involve more people across the whole town," he said.

Andy Williamson, from the Ashburton and Buckfastleigh bid, said: "We already are the UK town of culture. Everything that is happening here in Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, basically it is culture going on here all the time."

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