HCP is proud to partner with Herefordshire Council on a major county‑wide partnership of arts, culture and creative industry organisations, cultural practitioners, community groups and public‑sector collaborators. It has announced Herefordshire’s intention to bid for UK City of Culture 2029 - a bold move that puts the voices, ambition, and identity of local people at its heart.
The county has submitted an initial Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Government. It is being co-ordinated by Herefordshire Council, with potentially up to £10 million for a landmark year of cultural programming in 2029 for the eventual winning bidder.
Herefordshire’s EOI is a unique county-wide proposal, shaped collectively by partners including creative organisations, cultural and heritage partners, creative industry businesses, freelancers, museums and galleries, festivals, community organisations, Visit Herefordshire, Talk Community and the council’s Public Health service.
The bid sets out Herefordshire as ‘A Living Borderland’ - a rural vision shaped by the county’s landscapes, communities and shared identify, showing how culture can thrive in every part of the county. Herefordshire 2029 highlights a county alive with culture, a place where people, communities, artists and landscapes come together to shape a new rural story for Britain.
The Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Environment, Cllr Elissa Swinglehurst, said: “This is a partnership bid for a rural county with big ambitions. It highlights that opportunities to experience and enjoy culture should be part of everyday life everywhere in the country - not a luxury available only to a few who live near and can afford to attend the traditional big national institutions.
“Our partnership bid emphasises this is about improving daily life for people across Herefordshire. It offers government the chance to create an innovative new peripatetic model of using culture to tackle rural isolation, improve wellbeing and give young people more opportunities close to home. It centres the creative industry as a major driver for our economic growth - including the £700m+ heritage‑led visitor economy - and supporting access to well‑paid creative careers comparable to those in major cities.”
Nic Millington, Founder and CEO of Rural Media, another EOI partner, said: “Our approach shows how culture can play a vital role in improving life for rural communities, from supporting wellbeing driving economic growth. Submitting the EOI is just the start. As the process develops, we look forward to having more conversations with more people, partners and creatives across Herefordshire to shape what comes next.”
Herefordshire’s EOI sets out a vision for:
- A cultural programme that reaches every corner of the county, bringing high‑quality arts, events and experiences into villages, towns and a variety of rural spaces.
- Boosting the county’s fast‑growing creative economy, which already contributes around £230m GVA, and includes 800+ creative businesses and 4,000 practitioners.
- Involving and benefiting partners across Herefordshire’s cultural and creative sector, from anchor institutions to individual creatives, voluntary and community groups, students, SMEs, and emerging creative industries businesses.
- A rural City of Culture model rooted in landscape, creativity, community and our border identity showing how rural culture can play a strong role in national life.
- Giving more people access to high‑quality cultural experiences through a county‑wide, peripatetic programme brings the arts into community spaces, supports wellbeing, develops skills, and enhances economic resilience and pride in place.
- Culture driving regeneration and environmental leadership, while supporting wellbeing and inclusive, place‑based growth across rural Britain.
Lisle Turner of Open Sky, an ACE NPO and one of the partner organisations which have developed the EOI, said: “This bid reflects Herefordshire as A Living Borderland, shaped by its landscapes, traditions and strong communities. It celebrates the creativity and innovation already happening here. It reflects the border mindset of transcending boundaries and limitations making it a launch pad for local artists adopting digital technologies to reach audiences around the UK and wider world. The entire ecosystems of cultural partnerships is set to explode with opportunity, all across the county.”
We are all keeping out fingers crossed for the next stage.