Backing North Northumberland for Town of Culture
My letter to Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, urging her to consider Alnwick, Amble, and Berwick’s submissions for UK Town of Culture 2028.
Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ
Tuesday 1st April 2026
Dear Lisa,
Town of Culture Competition
I am writing about the Town of Culture Competition to recommend each of the towns that has formally expressed an interest from my constituency of North Northumberland.
The Town of Culture competition has been a fantastic exercise in boosting town spirit across the country after years of negative headlines for many of our high streets and small towns. Even for those towns that do not win, I hope that the process has created exciting areas of common ground that can be built on in the future. I wholeheartedly welcome the competition.
Town of Culture has certainly energised communities across my constituency of North Northumberland, with the result that an impressive three towns have submitted a formal expression of interest: Alnwick, Amble and Berwick-upon-Tweed. Each town has made a distinctive contribution to the long history of Northumberland: Alnwick as its former county capital, Amble as England’s ‘friendliest port’, and Berwick as the historic frontier between England and Scotland.
As economies change all three towns have developed cultural offerings for the millions of tourists who visit Northumberland every year, and who enjoy the unique blend of culture, history and local warmth that is the pride of the county. And each town is now looking to be firmly located on the national map by being the ‘UK Town of Culture 2028’ with all the status – and investment – such a title would bring.
They all have a strong claim, so I encourage you to consider their well-prepared submissions carefully. I also feel it important to note that each is closely intertwined with the rich context that formed Northumberland, which has included invasion, pilgrimage, and war at various times throughout history.
North Northumberland is truly special and I am delighted that so many towns from my constituency are engaged in the competition. I recommend them all to you and look forward to hearing the details of the next stage of the competition in due course.
Yours sincerely
David Smith MP
