'Leith is great' says the man helping decide if it will become the UK's first Town of Culture
Sir Phil Redmond said the level of enthusiasm in Leith was ‘loud and clear’
When Sir Phil Redmond addressed members of the local community at Leith Theatre, he was careful to make the reason for his visit clear.
“This is an informal visit, so don’t take anything you see from me, be it a smile or a wink, as anything,” said Sir Phil.
The creator of drama series including Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks, Sir Phil is one of a nine-strong panel who will decide on whether Leith - or one of 14 other rivals - will be named the UK’s first Town of Culture.
On a whistlestop tour on Thursday, Sir Phil met some of the local people involved in the Town of Culture plans and visited some of the cultural and community hotspots across Leith including: Leith Academy; Coburg Studios; Hibs Stadium; Fingal and Leith Theatre; before finishing his visit on The Shore.
“One of the underlying principles of the Town of Culture is that we want to hear the authentic voice of the town and why they also rate their town,” he said.
“The visit is to come and say hello and meet as many people as possible and get an informal gauge of the level of enthusiasm and excitement. I think that’s come over loud and clear in Leith.
“Everybody we’ve met was so enthusiastic, so willing, and so ambitious.
“That’s exactly what we wanted from Town of Culture – to help people tell the story of their particular place and celebrate it.”
He added: “You want to come and see it and feel it, and talk to the communities and things. And so far Leith is great.”
Leith is one of 15 places shortlisted from nearly 400 applications to become the UK’s first Town of Culture, in the same year it will mark 900 years since its first written record.
The bid is being developed by the Leith Culture Partnership with the backing of more than 80 local and national organisations and public figures.
Susie Gray, co-ordinator of Leith’s UK Town of Culture bid, said the organisation would capitalise on Leith’s cultural potential whether or not it wins the accolade.
She said: “The thing we most want him to feel is that this bid has come together through the passion, ambition and vision of so many people in Leith. We’re busy harnessing what is an incredible spread of artists, businesses and residents who feel Leith is culture.
“It has a swagger, it has an identity and a huge belief in itself. I think we want that to come across and really resonate. We could own this and really do it brilliantly.”
The UK Town of Culture competition is part of the Government’s ambition to restore pride in local areas.
The contenders are: Small towns: Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane, Stockton Town Centre Ward; Medium towns: Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd, Port Talbot; Large towns: Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham.
Shortlisted towns will receive £60,000 each to develop their full bids, which will be assessed by the independent judging panel.
One finalist will then be selected from each category with the overall winner being announced by March 2027
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