'The town of culture award would improve lives'

Making a Worcestershire town the first ever UK town of culture could "improve people's lives", according to volunteers at a theatre there.

Droitwich Town Spa Council said it intended to submit a bid for the title in 2028, with a prize of £3m on offer for the winning area.

Bosses at the Norbury Theatre said the town would be ideal for the award, given its central location in the country and strong cultural offer like the Rik Mayall comedy festival.

Anne Lane, from the theatre, said: "It's time the smaller towns had a chance to show what they can do."

The money is aimed at helping a town deliver a year-long programme of cultural events, to boost tourism.

"We're not a huge community here in Droitwich, but we have so much to offer," Lane said.

"We've got the theatre, we've got our links with Rik Mayall, we've got the Sacred Heart church with the beautiful mosaics, we've got John Heminge, co-editor of the First Folio, the collected plays of Shakespeare, and we've got the legacy of the 'salt king' John Corbett.

"There's a lot going on!"

She added that the Rik Mayall comedy festival - which launched last year and was a major success - can only help the Droitwich bid.

"We've proved that when Droitwich puts on events, people will come - we saw that with Rik Mayall's comedy festival," she said.

"People from all over the world came to that. And again for this May, comedians are coming from all over for the festival.

"The money on offer is a tremendous amount - if we can get people out of their houses and involved with something, it can improve people's lives."

The government wants towns to express an interest by the end of March - with shortlisted areas then handed £60,000 to work up a detailed bid.

As well as £3m for the winner, two runners-up will get £250,000 each to develop a cultural programme in their towns in 2028.

Councillor Richard Morris, leader of Wychavon District Council and a town councillor, said: "Droitwich has a rich history and a fantastic community with many events to support an application.

"Droitwich is already a well-known town of culture but to be nationally recognised as such would be fantastic."

Malvern, Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury also intend to make a bid, with all of them inviting residents to help shape it.

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