Lottery bid woes
The announcement that the Black Country Urban Park (UP) bid to the lottery was not successful in the People’s 50 Million Pound phone vote was a major disappointment (see here).
We wish the winner, Sustrans, well with their project and hope that in 5 or 10 years time we all have something we can point to and be proud of and of its impact on neighbourhoods and people’s lives. We should remember that the West Midlands has done well from the lottery in the past, such as last year’s announcement of £6.7m for projects in the region to promote wellbeing ().
There are, though, a number of lessons for the lottery and the Midlands after this competition. This was a major programme, in terms of the money at stake and the effort involved. Thirty-three entries were received for the first round call, being cut to a long list of thirteen, before the final four were announced for the national vote. This was a considerable effort for the Lottery and the bidding organisations. Yet the programme does not seem to have set the nation’s pulse racing. Only 286,285 votes were cast, with a Sustrans proposal winning with 41.69% of the vote – only 119,348 votes! Allowing for the fact that many of those could have been multiple votes by individuals (separate phone and internet votes could be cast) we may be talking about a vote for £50m being won on the basis of as few as 60,000 people.
Maybe it was the ambitious but slightly vague aim of the Lottery programme to find ‘a groundbreaking project that would inspire communities to revitalise the areas where they live’ that failed to stir more people to vote. Or maybe there was confusion over pitching a national project against three regional ones in the final competition. Possibly expecting significant engagement in communities that the project was looking to inspire was too much to expect. If such a vote is done again, perhaps we ought to give the money to the area with fewest votes, as this may be the one where the people are most in need it to make them inspired. The lottery needs to think seriously about whether or not to use this approach again to decide a national competition.
This was a very good bid for the Black Country and we should not lose sight of its aim to change the image and expectations linked to the area. Yes, there were industrial heritage and tourism goals, and immediate environmental improvements to be gained, but this was potentially just the start of the benefits.
Many good people come out of the Black Country, and sadly too many of them stay that way – out of the Black Country. This was a chance to raise the aspirations of the people in the area – much needed, it would appear, on the basis of the vote. It was also a chance to improve the image of the area and make it a better place to live, encouraging more people to stay in, and move to the area. If the aspirations of the area are to be raised as an aim of regional regeneration strategies this is an essential requirement.
So where next? We support the idea of continuing to develop the separate projects within the bid. The proposal for a 12-mile green corridor between Walsall and West Bromwich, for example, is environmentally important and local and regional regeneration money should be found for it.
The goal of developing the limestone caverns and Wrens Nest should also be pursued – with regional and national backing. Sometimes we in the region do not realise the national and international significance of these sites. It would be a disgrace not to develop them to their full capacity; as it stands they are just left to rot. Once the caverns collapse, they will be lost. There should be a national campaign to save and enhance these sites.
We would also like to encourage the local private sector to back these developments. Many businesses could benefit from enhanced tourist opportunities from the caverns and Wrens Nest. If the aspirational aspects of the proposals are developed too all local employers could potentially benefit by making the area a better place to live and work, helping to attract and retain the best employees.
The area has need of a grand vision but despite having a population of around a million people it could not muster 100,000 to vote for their own benefit. For us this highlights the importance of pursuing the development of this vision and working much harder to ensure that those people support it to the hilt.
We wish the winner, Sustrans, well with their project and hope that in 5 or 10 years time we all have something we can point to and be proud of and of its impact on neighbourhoods and people’s lives. We should remember that the West Midlands has done well from the lottery in the past, such as last year’s announcement of £6.7m for projects in the region to promote wellbeing ().
There are, though, a number of lessons for the lottery and the Midlands after this competition. This was a major programme, in terms of the money at stake and the effort involved. Thirty-three entries were received for the first round call, being cut to a long list of thirteen, before the final four were announced for the national vote. This was a considerable effort for the Lottery and the bidding organisations. Yet the programme does not seem to have set the nation’s pulse racing. Only 286,285 votes were cast, with a Sustrans proposal winning with 41.69% of the vote – only 119,348 votes! Allowing for the fact that many of those could have been multiple votes by individuals (separate phone and internet votes could be cast) we may be talking about a vote for £50m being won on the basis of as few as 60,000 people.
Maybe it was the ambitious but slightly vague aim of the Lottery programme to find ‘a groundbreaking project that would inspire communities to revitalise the areas where they live’ that failed to stir more people to vote. Or maybe there was confusion over pitching a national project against three regional ones in the final competition. Possibly expecting significant engagement in communities that the project was looking to inspire was too much to expect. If such a vote is done again, perhaps we ought to give the money to the area with fewest votes, as this may be the one where the people are most in need it to make them inspired. The lottery needs to think seriously about whether or not to use this approach again to decide a national competition.
This was a very good bid for the Black Country and we should not lose sight of its aim to change the image and expectations linked to the area. Yes, there were industrial heritage and tourism goals, and immediate environmental improvements to be gained, but this was potentially just the start of the benefits.
Many good people come out of the Black Country, and sadly too many of them stay that way – out of the Black Country. This was a chance to raise the aspirations of the people in the area – much needed, it would appear, on the basis of the vote. It was also a chance to improve the image of the area and make it a better place to live, encouraging more people to stay in, and move to the area. If the aspirations of the area are to be raised as an aim of regional regeneration strategies this is an essential requirement.
So where next? We support the idea of continuing to develop the separate projects within the bid. The proposal for a 12-mile green corridor between Walsall and West Bromwich, for example, is environmentally important and local and regional regeneration money should be found for it.
The goal of developing the limestone caverns and Wrens Nest should also be pursued – with regional and national backing. Sometimes we in the region do not realise the national and international significance of these sites. It would be a disgrace not to develop them to their full capacity; as it stands they are just left to rot. Once the caverns collapse, they will be lost. There should be a national campaign to save and enhance these sites.
We would also like to encourage the local private sector to back these developments. Many businesses could benefit from enhanced tourist opportunities from the caverns and Wrens Nest. If the aspirational aspects of the proposals are developed too all local employers could potentially benefit by making the area a better place to live and work, helping to attract and retain the best employees.
The area has need of a grand vision but despite having a population of around a million people it could not muster 100,000 to vote for their own benefit. For us this highlights the importance of pursuing the development of this vision and working much harder to ensure that those people support it to the hilt.
