Ripon has not been shortlisted in the inaugural UK Town of Culture 2028 competition, run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which attracted over 400 expressions of interest from towns across the country. But the partnership behind the bid says the journey it set out on does not end here.
The bid, “Small City, Big Landscape,” was developed through the Uredale Community Partnership (UCP), with Ripon Together (Ripon C.I.C.) as the proposed Delivery Body and North Yorkshire Council as the proposed Accountable Body.
While the bid was not successful, the partnership says the process itself has strengthened the case for investing in culture across Ripon and Uredale, and that the conversations, relationships and ideas developed through it will continue to be taken forward.
Dean John, Chair of Ripon Together and the Uredale Community Partnership, said:
Of course we are disappointed not to be taken forward in this competition, but nothing about what we have built together over recent months is diminished by that. Ripon’s story, rooted in pilgrimage and centred on a cathedral that has welcomed people seeking sanctuary and connection since the seventh century, remains as strong and as true as it ever was. This process has brought partners together in ways that will outlast the bid itself, and that civic pride and sense of shared purpose across Ripon and Uredale is something we intend to carry forward.
The bid drew on a February 2026 workshop convened by UCP, which brought together cultural practitioners, venue managers, community organisers, public sector partners and heritage organisations from across Ripon and Uredale. Together, they mapped more than one hundred cultural assets and identified shared priorities for the area’s cultural life.
Lilla Bathurst, Manager at Ripon BID, said:
We can already see what’s possible when partners work together on culture and creativity. Work is already under way on Ripon BID’s Creative Streets project, funded by the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire’s High Street Fund, which will bring a new Hornblower statue, heritage trail and street art to the city centre. And we have just enjoyed another fantastic Ripon Theatre Festival, with performances staged across the city by local volunteers, drawing visitors from across the region. There is real momentum here, and we will keep working with partners to build on it and to keep growing Ripon’s reputation as a place worth travelling to.
The partnership says this work, along with the wider evidence base developed through the Ripon City Investment Plan will now be used to focus support behind strong, deliverable projects that reflect what communities across the area have said matters to them.
The partnership thanked everyone who contributed to the bid, including residents, community groups, cultural organisations and businesses across Ripon, Masham, Ripley and the villages and hamlets in between, and said it remains committed to working together to strengthen Ripon and Uredale’s cultural life, with or without the Town of Culture title.
