Shrewsbury asks for community views

Residents, students, schoolchildren and businesses in Shrewsbury are being asked to have their say as work ramps up on the town's bid to become the UK’s first ever Town of Culture.

They can make their views known through a set of surveys designed to put the community’s voice at the heart of the initial application.

The UK Government’s first ever Town of Culture competition offers an amazing opportunity for Shrewsbury to cement its place as one of the most attractive places to visit, live and work in the UK. If shortlisted, Shrewsbury would be awarded £60,000 to deliver its full bid – including building cultural capacity and further community engagement in the region.

If the town wins outright, £3 million would be awarded for investment in the town’s culture – a sum that would be transformative at a time when funding for cultural programmes is increasingly difficult to come by.

To build the strongest possible case to the judging panel, Town of Culture bid partners Shrewsbury Town Council and Shrewsbury BID have developed five tailored surveys to gather feedback from different groups across the community, including young children.

Each one asks about experiences of culture in Shrewsbury, what the town does well, and what people would love to see more of.

The surveys are open to:

• Adults (general public)
• Students aged 14–18
• Primary school children aged 4–7
• Primary school children aged 8–11
• Shrewsbury businesses

Each survey takes just a few minutes to complete and will make a genuine difference when shaping Shrewsbury’s Town of Culture bid. Find the right one for you here.

Surveys must be completed by March 28 and all responses are anonymous – no personal or identifying information is collected or shared, though there is the option to provide an email address to stay informed on the programme.

Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Alex Wagner, said, "Shrewsbury has a brilliant cultural life, and this bid is an opportunity to show that to the rest of the country - and to invest in it in a way that benefits everyone."

“The strongest bid we can make is one that reflects what people here actually want, and that means hearing from everyone," he added, "not just adults, not just business owners, but young people too, who have the biggest stake in what Shrewsbury’s identity as a town looks like in the years ahead. Please do take a few minutes to share your views with us.”

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, which developed the surveys, said, “The more voices the partnership hears from across Shrewsbury, the stronger the case that can be made on the town’s behalf.

"Winning Town of Culture would be a genuine gamechanger for Shrewsbury's businesses - bringing a range of benefits including a major boost in profile, and the investment it would make possible in the events and experiences that bring people into town.”

To share your views, visit: https://originalshrewsbury.co.uk/blog/help-us-make-shrewsbury-the-uks-first-ever-town-of-culture

Picture credit: Andy Hughes