Nandy launches search for UK's first 'town of culture'

Too many places have been "written out of the national story", the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said as she launched a search for the UK's first "town of culture".

- Mark Brown North of England correspondent

The town of culture designation comes after the success of the cities of culture programme, which has put Derry, Hull, Coventry and, this year, Bradford in the limelight, boosting, supporters say, the local economy, civic pride and access to the arts.

The government said the first winning town would get £3.5m to help them develop a cultural programme in the summer of 2028.

The competition for the 2029 UK city of culture has also opened, with the winner being promised £10m, the first time the government has put an upfront figure on its contribution.

Nandy visited Bradford yesterday to see a number of city of culture projects, including the Turner Prize exhibition of four shortlisted contemporary artists displaying their works in the wood-panelled Edwardian splendour of the Cartwright Hall gallery in Lister park.

She said that too often the debate around art and culture was framed as an excellence versus access debate.