Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator Sir Philip Redmond has said Leith is “great” as he visited the port area bidding to become Town of Culture for its 900th anniversary year.
The 77-year-old TV producer and screenwriter said one of the aims of the Town of Culture initiative is to help people “tell the story of their particular place and celebrate it”. He came to the historic port district near Edinburgh on Thursday as part of his tour of the 15 places across the UK nominated for the title.
Leith’s 900th anniversary bid
Leith, which will celebrate its 900th anniversary in 2028, is one of 15 out of the 398 towns across the UK that made the shortlist for the honour. Sir Philip, chairman of the UK Town of Culture Competition, said making the shortlist is “actually quite an achievement on its own”.
During Thursday’s whistle-stop tour, he met some of the local people involved in the Town of Culture plans and visited cultural and community hotspots across Leith, including Leith Academy, Coburg Studios, Hibs Stadium, Fingal and Leith Theatre, before finishing his visit on The Shore.
Community enthusiasm praised
“I think the overall impression and the overall reason why I wanted to come (to Leith) was just to meet the people who are part of the bid, and try to get a sense of the interest and enthusiasm of the community, and that’s come over really well today,” Sir Philip told the Press Association.
“So everybody we’ve met was so enthusiastic, so willing, and so ambitious. That’s exactly what we wanted from Town of Culture – to help people tell the story of their particular place and celebrate it.”
The competition has set out guiding principles, and on behalf of the judges Sir Philip said: “We wanted to feel that a place was really sort of wanting to celebrate its own culture, but also we wanted to hear the authentic voice of that place.”
He said he has come on his tour of shortlisted towns to meet the people and get a sense for each place. “You want to come and see it and feel it, and talk to the communities and things,” he said. “And so far Leith is great.”
Developing the final submission
Sir Philip’s visit comes as Leith develops its final full submission, with residents invited to contribute their stories, priorities and ideas for what a fitting programme to celebrate 900 years as UK Town of Culture in 2028 could look like. The bid is being coordinated by the Leith Culture Partnership charity with backing from more than 80 local and national organisations and public figures.
Susie Gray and Jenny Mungall, co-directors of the partnership, said it was “brilliant” to welcome Sir Philip to Leith and give him the chance to experience first hand what makes the place so special. “This bid has always been about celebrating and valuing the people who live and work here and the extraordinary culture that already exists in Leith,” they said.
“Becoming the UK’s first Town of Culture would be an incredible opportunity, particularly in the year Leith celebrates its 900th birthday. Already we know that the process is forging new partnerships and friendships, igniting new ideas and helping us to come together to think ambitiously about what we want for Leith in the years ahead.”
The UK Town of Culture competition is part of the Government’s ambition to restore pride in local areas. The contenders are: small towns Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane and Stockton Town Centre Ward; medium towns Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd and Port Talbot; large towns Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham.
Shortlisted towns will receive £60,000 each to develop their full bids, which will be assessed by an independent judging panel. One finalist will then be selected from each category, with the overall winner announced by March 2027.
