Making it our business to carry on Durham’s cultural journey

As Durham County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Partnerships, she naturally shares the disappointment felt across County Durham at missing out to Bradford on the coveted UK City of Culture 2025 title.

But Councillor Scott insists there is no time to dwell on that disappointment: “We couldn’t have a better platform to build on than we have now,” she declares as she looks forward to building on the foundation of the bid.

As someone who has spent most of her life in Durham, and ran her own company for 13 years, Councillor Scott has a passion for the county – and for how businesses can play a leading role in shaping its future.

Her message is clear. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Durham reached the final four of the competition from an original list of 20 and won £125,000 as a result. Let’s not forget that the county has an array of world-class attractions and stunning landscapes.

But let’s also not underestimate the importance of County Durham maximising the economic potential of its cultural offering, so that established businesses benefit and new ones are born.

“The City of Culture experience has been galvanizing, and the support we’ve enjoyed from businesses reinforces the belief that we are doing the right thing economically by being bold and ambitious,” she says.

“We are seeing signs of buoyancy in the private sector in County Durham and knowing that businesses are prepared to step forward like they have demonstrates a shared spirit and ambition in what can be achieved by working together.

“But the truth is that, although we were on a cultural journey long before the City of Culture bid, it hasn’t so far been sufficiently translated into economic performance. That’s the challenge we face – to create real economic value in the cultural and tourism sector. We have to get visitors to the county – and keep them here longer.”

So, could County Durham try again for City of Culture status in 2029? “That’s not a decision to take now – we’ve got to focus on developing plans based on the 2025 bid because a lot of it can still happen,” she replies.

Durham County Council, along with Durham University and Culture Durham – the partners that spearheaded the City of Culture 2025 campaign – are determined to deliver on the ambitious plans within the bid. The aims are to attract tourists from across the UK and beyond, improve health and wellbeing, and deliver thousands of new jobs.

The full bid programme is still under wraps, but advanced plans are in place to celebrate the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025 and the innovative role Shildon played in its formation. A new arts and science festival will also be staged to coincide with the prestigious National Astronomy Meeting, hosted by Durham University and taking place in the city in 2025.

The Durham 2025 partners will also work with national agencies to seek support for “Place Labs” – creative place-making hubs that will provide space for communities to share ideas,  deliver their own cultural activities and support creative business start-ups.

In addition to the county’s existing festival and events programme, major developments will take place at cultural attractions, including bringing the former Durham Light Infantry Museum and Art Gallery back into use as an exhibition centre, gallery and café.

“The county council is part way through developing an inclusive economic strategy, and the City of Culture process has helped with that because it has underlined the fact that cultural regeneration has to be a key strand,” says Councillor Scott.

The first data is now available from The Big Econ-versation, which was launched at the end of January, and continued until April, with residents being invited to have their say on a wide range of issues.

“People want to see an increased number of better quality jobs in the county, plus there’s a big message coming through about upskilling our workforce, and creating opportunities for young people.

“But it’s also clear that people feel County Durham needs to shout more about what we’ve got – and that’s where the City of Culture bid has helped because it’s added to our profile.”

As she speaks, Councillor Scott is a passenger in a car travelling to Crook Hall for a lunch with partners about the road ahead. The Grade 1 medieval building, on the outskirts of Durham City, will reopen this summer after being recently taken over by the National Trust.

“That vote of confidence by the National Trust is a timely demonstration that the county is moving forward, and that we have a platform to build on,” she says.

“There has to be an early focus on what comes next, and we’ll be inviting businesses to talk to us about how we carry on the progress we’ve made.”

Yes, the City of Culture 2025 result was a disappointment – but County Durham is determined to still emerge as a winner.

DON'T BE DOWNHEARTED - BE PROUD!

As one of the business figures who got behind County Durham’s City of Culture 2025 campaign, Mark Taylor has already seen the positive impact the bid has had.
Mark runs Elvet & Bailey, a shop which sells local handmade independent gifts and artworks in Prince Bishops Place, on Durham High Street.

Mark, with his fiancé Anna, started trading out of his garage in 2017 before moving into the shop and building a reputation as a thriving local business.

And, having been born and raised in Spennymoor, Mark (pictured below) is fully behind anything that helps to bang the drum for County Durham.

“The ethos of the shop is that its ‘of Durham, for Durham’ and we’ve always been passionate about promoting the people of the county 365 days a year. Having done that, we found ourselves being invited to a board meeting of the Durham BID and caught up in the whole whirlwind around the City of Culture campaign,” he explains.

Mark’s message is that, although missing out on the title is naturally disappointing, the people of County Durham shouldn’t be downhearted.

“Just because we haven’t got the shiny badge doesn’t mean we can’t still be proud of what we’ve achieved and what we can go on to achieve,” he says.

“The process has been overwhelmingly positive, and we feel lucky to have been part of it. It’s brought a lot of people together, created a buzz, and put us on The One Show. That kind of exposure is unprecedented.

“There’s a lot of good stuff in the pipeline for County Durham. We’ve got a lot to shout about, and we should be proud that we’re living and doing business in a fantastic place.”

LONG-LASTING BENEFITS

Bill Fullen, chief executive of believe housing (pictured below), said: “We may not have won the City of Culture 2025 bid, but I’m sure we’ve won new admirers across the UK who will come to enjoy what County Durham has to offer.
“The bid itself has strengthened partnerships, highlighted the county’s incredible potential and inspired some wonderful ideas for the future.
“The enthusiasm and commitment to use culture as a catalyst for regeneration won’t be lost and I hope people throughout the county feel long-lasting benefits of the work that went into the bid and the ideas it brought forward.”

Stuart Fearn MBE, head of customer contact at Newcastle Building Society (pictured below), said: “We now need to keep going with the incredible work undertaken so far and build on the great network of businesses we have created, amplifying every social, cultural and economic opportunity that exists. We need to maintain the momentum of involvement we have seen throughout our campaign and realise the huge potential of the region”.

Durham County Council is a Premier Partner in The Northern Echo’s Level Up campaign to promote the North East’s case for greater Government investment, so that businesses can flourish and enable more well-paid and sustainable jobs to be created.

• Any business interested in becoming a partner of The Northern Echo’s Level Up campaign, please contact Ryan Fenwick at ryanfenwick@localiq.co.uk