Back Dudley’s city bid
The three-month countdown is on to Dudley’s official submission for city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations next year.
And council bosses today issued a call to borough residents to help back the bid by revealing their favourite things about living in Dudley, so they can be included in the final submissions.
A new webpage has been launched giving detailed information about the bid, including frequently asked questions about the reasoning behind putting the borough forward.
The webpage – https://www.dudley.gov.uk/council-community/dudley-a-city-in-the-making/ – also includes an email address for people to make contact with their favourite things about the borough.
People can email cityinthemaking@dudley.gov.uk, and also use the taglines #CityofDudleyBid and #ACityInTheMaking to make their submissions on social media.
The deadline for submission of bids is December 8, with the winners announced next year.
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, said:
With three months to go, we are working hard behind the scenes to pull together the full details of the bid ahead of formal submission in December.
We’d like to hear from residents about what they love about living here, to make sure we don’t miss anything out.
We are tremendously proud of our borough and we have huge ambitions for our future.
From our medieval Domesday book reference back in 1086, not to mention the millions of years of geological history, we have a past that most cities across the world could only dream of and of which we are very proud.
But we’re also looking to forge a bright new future.
We recognise there is work to do in that regard. But we have a billion pound regeneration programme which is coming to life as we speak to change the landscape of this fantastic place with new developments our people can be proud of.
The bid comes after the Government announced a civic honours competition to mark 70 years of the Queen’s reign in 2022.
Ministers are inviting bids for city and Lord Mayor (or Provost) status, with entries needing to be in by the start of December this year.
There are no set numbers for the amount of new cities that will be crowned, with it dependent on the strength of the entries received.
Factfile
- A proud borough which dates back to the Domesday book
- We are the birthplace of the industrial revolution, boasting a world-renowned glass making heritage and now widely regarded as the historic capital of the Black Country
- More than £1billion worth of regeneration programmes are well underway in Dudley from Midland Metro to a University campus
- Around one million visitors every year to nationally and globally recognised tourist attractions
- A population of more than 300,000 – larger than Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Preston and Lancaster – and more than three times the size of other cities such as Worcester, Lincoln and Bath
- We have a make-up similar to other cities – Stoke, Bradford and Canterbury are all made up of separate towns
- We have a global Geopark with hundreds of sites of unique world importance as well as a historic Castle and nationally renowned zoo
- Home of the Black County Festival – a celebration of everything that makes this region unique
- We are submitting our bid for City Status on December 8 2021 as part of the Queen’s Jubilee