Care for Cleveleys is leading a bid for the town to win the Government’s UK Town of Culture 2028 competition. Led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, there’s a £3m prize fund for the winning town. The prize will enable delivery of a year-long celebration of arts, culture and community spirit.
Wyre Council is actively supporting the bid writing, which must be in by the closing date on 31 March 2026. Towns shortlisted at application stage will receive a £60,000 grant to cover the cost of a full, detailed bid. Along with the £3m prize, two runners-up will each get a £250,000 prize fund.
UPDATE: Cleveleys didn’t get shortlisted for this award, which to be honest we didn’t expect to. The process was useful though and will help us in future.
Cleveleys Bid for Town of Culture
Wondering exactly what Culture is and why we should apply? Well according to Google… ‘Culture is a system of collectively held values, beliefs, and practices of a group which guides decisions and actions in patterned and recurrent ways. It encompasses the organization of thinking, feeling, believing, valuing, and behaving collectively that differentiates one group from another.’
From this definition, Cleveleys has every reason to enter. The work and ethos of the established Care for Cleveleys movement sets the town apart from others. There’s culture to be found all around the town. From the modern Mythic Coast story and artworks to the ancient folklore of sunken villages. The quirky decorations made by local people and community pride in the town. Plus an eclectic entertainment scene. From the award-winning Capricorn Singers ladies’ choir to thriving community arts. And the Tiny Pug – one of the best vinyl shops in the area. Plus new and long established bars offering popular live entertainment.
Win-Win
Competition is obviously very tough, with hundreds of towns known to be entering – but someone has to win. Even if Cleveleys doesn’t get a cash prize, Care for Cleveleys is viewing the process as a win-win. The organisation is already working in this direction. Developing the story of the Sea Swallow in its events, promoting it through their community Shop, and bringing it to life in the town. Collaboration with other groups is always sought after and welcomed. Care for Cleveleys is promoting use of the new events space at Princess Road. It’s bringing grass-roots entertainment to the heart of the town.
The popular (and free) History and Mystery leaflet already offers a walking trail around the town’s cultural assets, supported by two outdoor photo galleries.
The initial application stage brings all these threads together and into focus. If longlisted, we’d get an amazing opportunity for consultation and development with the whole town. At the end of the formal bid stage we’d have a worked-up Cultural Strategy. As for winning the prize, well that would be nothing short of amazing. And, based on successful delivery of the UKSPF grant, Cleveleys would certainly do the prize fund justice. Both during the programme period and in the legacy afterwards.
Watch this space
We’d love Cleveleys to be longlisted, then you’ll get a chance to help to develop the full bid. It would be a brilliant chance for full scale consultation and partnership working with the general public and existing groups. If we’re not longlisted, we’ll still continue in this direction, developing a cultural offer for the town. It will just be considerably more slowly!
Keep those fingers crossed!