Dundee councillors have expressed “astonishment” that UK City of Culture 2017 judges felt the city’s failed bid for the title lacked local political support.
Dundee lost out to Hull after a final pitch from the four shortlisted finalists to judges in Derry last month.
Feedback received by Dundee’s bid team from the judging panel stated “support from political leaders at Dundee City Council could have been more apparent in the presentation and pitch”.
SNP councillor Willie Sawers, depute convener of the authority’s policy and resources committee, said: “Having not seen the feedback report from the judges, I am at a loss to understand the comments attributed to them of a lack of political support from the city council.
“The decision to make the bid was agreed unanimously last year by the city council’s policy and resources committee and achieved a tremendous level of cross-party support.
“Politicians of all parties threw their weight behind the bid.
“However, I am encouraged that the bid judges appear to be stating that one of the reasons that Dundee was not successful is that we are already benefiting from a major culture-led regeneration with the Waterfront and the V&A.”
Kevin Keenan, leader of the Labour group on the city council, said the judges’ comments were “disappointing”.
He said: “There was a commitment given from all the political parties, so I find it a bit strange. We would have welcomed it and it was an opportunity for jobs.”
West End Liberal Democrat councillor Fraser Macpherson said he was “frankly astonished” at the comment that support from the political leaders on the city council could have been more apparent.
He said: “In over 12 years on the council, I have never seen such cross-party co-operation and putting political differences aside than we saw in the City Chambers over the City of Culture bid.
“I would pay tribute to my colleagues on the council across all the parties for the support all gave.
“The bid has given our city great publicity and there is no doubt that there will be really positive outcomes from the process for Dundee in terms of the cultural development of our city.”
The report from the nine-strong judging panel stated: “The Dundee programme was one of the most innovative and ambitious of all bids considered and was well resourced.”
The report said that Dundee was already benefiting from a major culture-led regeneration with the Waterfront development and the V&A and that City of Culture would not be as important here as for the other cities on the shortlist.
In areas marked “less strong”, the judges said the city did not have as much funding secured as its competitors and did not focus enough on diversity, older people and lower skilled communities.
The team behind Dundee’s bid will meet Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop on January 9.
It is hoped that funding can be secured to allow some of the proposed ideas from the city’s 132-page bid document to be resurrected in the future.