Where did Chester go wrong in its bid for City of Culture 2017?

Phil Redmond considers Chester good enough for Hollyoaks but not to become UK City of Culture.

The creator of the Channel 4 soap chose to set the youth-oriented show in a fictional suburb of Chester.

But as chairman of the independent advisory panel appointed by the Department of Culture to consider bids to become the 2017 UK City of Culture, he didn’t even regard Chester as worthy of being included in the final four.

Instead, his panel felt the likes of Dundee, Hull, Leicester and Swansea Bay were more deserving of becoming the nation’s cultural hub for an entire year.

This is despite being presented with a list of activities which included Chester Mystery Plays, Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester Literature Festival, Midsummer Watch, MBNA Chester Music Festival and more.

Not even the fact the status would come the year after Chester’s new theatre opens on the site of the former Odeon building was enough to persuade Prof Redmond and his panel that our ancient Roman city should wave the UK’s cultural flag with pride.

Yesterday, the man behind such cultural icons as Brookside and Grange Hill would not be drawn on exactly why Chester had failed but urged the city not to be discouraged and to try again.

He said: “Both Swansea and Hull had a similar experience when they bid for 2013. But the bids brought people together as a consortium, acting as a catalyst for cooperation.”

He also confirmed that Chester’s lack of city centre venues such as a theatre or cinema played no part in the decision making process.

“It is not about infrastructure or venues, it is about sharing a common cultural theme. I remember in Birmingham when it was said it was a city of many minorities not speaking with a single voice.”

And Prof Redmond reminded everyone it was not question of cost: “It is supposed to be about a city coming together within existing resources, not with additional money but using what is available and pooling resources.”