Hinckley and Melton Vie for UK Town of Culture Title

More towns in Leicestershire are planning bids to be named the UK's first-ever Town of Culture. The government has invited towns to enter the new competition, which will run alongside the existing UK City of Culture contest, which was won by Bradford in 2025. Hinckley and Melton are set to join Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch in entering the contest to win the title in 2028. The government said the competition would boost local pride and said the winner would be awarded a £3m prize, with two runners-up receiving £250,000 each. Melton Borough Council leader Pip Allnatt said: "We are already ahead of the game on this and we have been working on it for some weeks." "It's about the whole fabric of what makes a place tick, and what makes people happy," Allnatt added. "This is an opportunity but it's not a council thing. It's about local people telling us what's important to them." "We are a centre of agriculture and food production and we have a great heritage attached to that."