MILLENNIUM CITY STATUS COMPETITION - WINNING CITIES ANNOUNCED

18 Dec 2000 12:00 AM

Three new cities for the Millennium were announced today by the Home Office on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.

In a Parliamentary Written Answer, Home Office Minister Mike O''Brien announced that, on the advice of the Prime Minister, Her Majesty The Queen has granted city status to Brighton & Hove, Inverness and Wolverhampton to commemorate the Millennium.

Responding to a Parliamentary Question from Maria Eagle, MP for Liverpool, Garston, Mr O''Brien said:

''I am pleased to announce that, on the advice of my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister, Her Majesty The Queen has commanded that city status should be granted to Brighton & Hove, Inverness and Wolverhampton to mark the Millennium.

''Although the grant of the honour remains a rare mark of distinction, The Queen accepted the Prime Minister''s recommendation to grant city status to more than one town to commemorate the Millennium. City status will be granted by Letters Patent, which will now be prepared for presentation to Brighton & Hove, Inverness and Wolverhampton in due course.

''The unsuccessful applicants will, of course, be disappointed not to have been honoured on this occasion. The quality of the thirty-nine applications received was very high, however, and demonstrated the pride in their communities felt by local people in towns across the United Kingdom. They will all have an opportunity for their applications to be considered again, for the grant of city status to mark Her Majesty''s Golden Jubilee in 2002. The Queen has agreed to the Prime Minister''s recommendation that Her Jubilee should be marked, exceptionally, by grants of city status to a suitably qualified town in each of Wales, Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.

''My officials will now initiate a review of the procedures used in the Millennium competition. Further details of the Golden Jubilee competition will be announced during the first half of next year.''

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of the Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers.

2. The grant of city status is purely honorific; it confers no additional powers or functions on the town.

3. City status is not, and never has been, a right which can be claimed by a town fulfilling certain conditions. The use of specific criteria could lead to a town claiming city status as of right, which in turn might devalue the honour. The reasons for a decision to grant city status to a particular town are not divulged publicly, but the factors usually taken into account include population size, whether a town has significant Royal and historical links and its significance and distinctiveness as a centre within its own area. All applications were considered on their individual merits.

4. Applications were formally invited on 28 May 1999 with a deadline of 1 September 1999. Applications are submitted by local authorities and take whatever form the local authority think best presents the town''s case.

5. Thirty nine applications were received from 27 English, 6 Welsh, 4 Scottish and 2 Northern Irish towns.

6. Following the millennium city status competition, there are now 61 cities in the UK; 49 in England, 4 in Wales, 5 in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.

CITY STATUS FACTSHEET

1. Grant of City Status

City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of the Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers.

2. Additional Functions/Powers Conferred by City Status

The grant of city status is purely honorific; it confers no additional powers or functions on the town.

3. Criteria

City status is not, and never has been, a right which can be claimed by a town fulfilling certain conditions. The use of specific criteria could lead to a town claiming city status as of right, which in turn might devalue the honour. All applications were considered on their individual merits.

4. Awards Since 1900:

2000: Brighton & Hove Inverness Wolverhampton

1994: Armagh St David''s

1992: Sunderland (40th Anniversary of Queen''s Accession to the throne)

1977: Derby (Queen''s Silver Jubilee)

1969: Swansea (Investiture of HRH The Prince of Wales)

1964: Southampton

1951: Cambridge

1937: Lancaster

1928: Plymouth

1926: Portsmouth Salford

1925: Stoke-on-Trent

1919: Leicester

1905: Cardiff

5. UK Cities

Following the millennium city status competition, there are now 61 cities in the UK; 49 in England, 4 in Wales, 5 in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.

English Cities

Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Carlisle, Cambridge, Canterbury, Chester, Chichester, Coventry, Derby, Durham, Ely, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Kingston-upon-Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Litchfield, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Ripon, Salford, Salisbury, Sheffield, Southampton, St Albans, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Truro, Wakefield, Wells, Westminster, Winchester, Wolverhampton, Worcester and York

Welsh Cities

Bangor, Cardiff, St David''s and Swansea

Scottish Cities

Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

Northern Irish Cities

Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry.

6. Announcement of Millennium City Status Competition

On 27 October 1998 the Home Secretary announced, in answer to a Parliamentary Question from Jenny Jones MP, that the Queen had expressed the intention of marking both the Millennium and the 50th Anniversary of Her Accession to the throne by grants of city status.

7. Applications for Millennium City Status Competition

Applications were formally invited on 28 May 1999 with a deadline of 1 September 1999. Applications are submitted by local authorities and take whatever form the local authority thinks best presents the town''s case.

Thirty nine applications were received from 27 English, 6 Welsh, 4 Scottish and 2 Northern Irish towns.

English Applicants

Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Brighton & Hove, Chelmsford, Colchester, Croydon, Doncaster, Dover, Guildford, Ipswich, Luton, Maidstone, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Preston, Reading, Shrewsbury & Atcham, Southend on Sea, Southwark, Stockport, Swindon, Telford, Warrington and Wolverhampton

Welsh Applicants

Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Newport, Newtown, St Asaph and Wrexham

Scottish Applicants

Ayr, Inverness, Paisley and Stirling

Northern Irish Applicants

Ballymena and Lisburn