Cornwall Council agrees £336k for Capital of Culture bid

Councillor Geoff Brown said the bid was for "all of Cornwall"

A bid for Truro to be European Capital of Culture in 2023 using £336,000 in public funding will go ahead.

The cabinet of Cornwall Council had previously approved the bid but were forced to reconsider when the full council "called in" the decision.

Now, in a second ballot the Independent and Liberal Democrat cabinet has voted eight to one in favour of the bid, agreeing the public money to fund it.

A Cornish Conservative MP condemned the bid as "a vanity project".

For more on the Capital of Culture bid and other stories from Cornwall

On 25 January, the cabinet approved spending of £536,000 on the bid but in the meeting earlier they agreed the initial budget of £336,000.

Leeds, Dundee and Milton Keynes have all declared their interest in the title, which two European cities share every year.

Julian German, Cornwall Council cabinet member for economy and culture, said they would try to get "contributions from other businesses and partners" towards the costs of the bid.

But Steve Double, Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, said the bid was "a waste of money" and "a vanity project of a few people in the cabinet".

The European Union manages the Capital of Culture project but three non-EU cities have previously held the title.