Jubilee Cities Announced

[Clip]

Why is Chelmsford "understandable" ?

To someone who visits the place fairly regularly, I have to say the place is basically a dump ! It has a pokey 2 platform station, and doesn't have a proper bus station or a proper football team.

I'm not sure of all the towns competing, but of the ones already mentioned in this thread, I would say Middlesborough more suitable to become cities than Chelmsford !

I love the Irony of your post.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Did Blackburn apply? And St Asaph where the hell is that?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

No, it did in 2000 and 2002 IIRC

St Asaph is inland, south of Rhyl.

 

[Ivo]

Did Blackburn apply?

No. They wouldn't have had much hope in all honesty, and given City Status is awarded to Local Authorities these days it would have been shared with Darwen anyway. Imagine that - the City of Darwen...!

And St Asaph where the hell is that?

Ask and ye shall find out...!

 

[Michael.Y]

On the other hand, I don't see why Newport at the very least should have been permitted to enter?

We have a cathedral. And 11 libraries.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Oh dear. Perth I understand and Chelmsford yeah, but St Asaph...what the heck? Why? Sure it's religious but we have Reading and Middlesborough which are much better contenders!

There was to be one new city each from Scotland, Wales and England. Surely you cannot expect Reading or Midddlesbrough to contest St Asaph for the Welsh city winner..
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It had to be Northern Irish AFAIK, as the city statues went to the other three UK countries.

Did Armagh receive an upgraded status in some manner today? Incidentally, did you mean to say "statutes" rather than statues ?

 

[Ivo]

We have a cathedral. And 11 libraries.

But it only became a City ten years earlier! Why should it gain a Lord Mayor so soon after its elevation when many cities designated as such since Time Immemorial are still waiting?

There was to be one new city each from Scotland, Wales and England.

There wasn't supposed to be - it was expected to have been only one from the entire Union.

Did Armagh receive an upgraded status in some manner today?

See the previous page. Armagh has been awarded the title of the seat of a Lord Mayoralship - a designation only official cities can apply for.

 

[Eagle]

Wow. I haven't seen this much arguing over what is to all intents and purposes a change of terminology since... well, since the equal marriage thread

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There wasn't supposed to be - it was expected to have been only one from the entire Union.

Who was it who made the decision to make an award of a city status this time to Scotland, Wales and England. Sorry, but I have been out of touch somewhat today.

Incidentally, I am old enough to have travelled on the Vale of Clwyd railway to St Asaph railway station before it was closed in 1964.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I don't know, but Clegg said something about representing every country's equal role in the Union, ergo they all get something.

 

[Ivo]

Who was it who made the decision to make an award of a city status this time to Scotland, Wales and England. Sorry, but I have been out of touch somewhat today.

It would have been the Queen on the advice of Nick Clegg as Lord President of the Privy Council. The reigning monarch is unlikely to disagree, although it should be noted that the modern format (i.e. competitions) have only been in use since the 1992 elevation of Sunderland.

P.S.: Not to worry; we all have days like that...

 

[Eagle]

I don't know, but Clegg said something about representing every country's equal role in the Union, ergo they all get something.

Let's see...

England: 51 cities, population 51.45 million, average one city per 1,009,000 population.

Scotland: seven cities, population 5.22 million, average one city per 746,000 population.

Wales: six cities, population 3.01 million, average one city per 502,000 population.

Northern Ireland: five cities, population 1.80 million, average one city per 360,000 population.

Overall: 69 cities, population 62.26 million, average one city per 902,000 population.

So smaller countries have disproportionate numbers of cities...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

See the previous page. Armagh has been awarded the title of the seat of a Lord Mayoralship - a designation only official cities can apply for.

My apologies for this oversight.

 

[martinsh]

It's open to debate, but Preston is actually really big, .... and at the time a top football team

You are Shaun Ellis of shaunsoft and I claim my £5

http://www.shaunsoft.co.uk/

PS why am I providing a link to one of my companies main competitors ? I must be mad !

 

[Ivo]

Not so long ago, Southend had a City Bid section on both the council website and the Visit Southend website.

Now?

Sunny Southend isn't so Sunny right now - in fact, it's somewhat Stormy (note the lightning)

 

[martinsh]

I love the Irony of your post.

I have been to Middlesborough and do know what it's like - and prefer it to Chelmsford

 

[Ivo]

I have been to Middlesborough and do know what it's like - and prefer it to Chelmsford

I think you're in a minority there. (Also, forgive the pedantry )

 

[Clip]

I have been to Middlesborough and do know what it's like - and prefer it to Chelmsford

Aye a dump with no proper football team.

Just because you prefer one over the other doesnt mean they are not both terrible places to qualify as Cities.

It was bad enough when they made Sunderland one.

 

[Michael.Y]

Don't tell Jeff Stelling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO8yHVYof44

 

[Swr28]

I think St Asaph was chosen due historical links to the Welsh language the place where the bible was translated into Wels this hopefully give some connection to future generations of Welsh speakers.

 

[philjo]

The Diocese of St Asaph covers a large area from LLandudno-Presatyn to Wrexham and south to Newtown & Welshpool

http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/asaph/local/index.html

 

[Badger]

Ah, that's a bit more special then.

Out of curiosity, when does a church become a cathedral?

Wolverhampton has no cathedral but it does have a very big, important church-of-historical-significance.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Out of curiosity, when does a church become a cathedral?

A very brief answer is that a cathedral is a church that contains the "seat" of a bishop and has an administered area that is known as a diocese.

 

[martinsh]

I think you're in a minority there. (

Northerners are real, real people !

 

[tbtc]

I can't seem to find population figures for Raith :P

It's smaller than Albion (where the Rovers play), but bigger than Queen (of the South)

I don't know, but Clegg said something about representing every country's equal role in the Union, ergo they all get something.

I think Yorkshire ought to get a new city - its as big and important as Wales

 

[bnm]

I've just read the entire thread and come to the conclusion:

I couldn't care less whether Anytown, UK becomes a city. Particularly with all the subjectivity from thread contributors directed at certain places. It's such irrational, illogical thinking to dislike a particular place.

Haters gonna hate indeed.

:roll::roll::roll:

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Why does the link to professional or semi-professional football clubs have any relevance to the decision to award city status to settlements ?
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I can't seem to find population figures for Raith :P

Raith is not a settlement as such. Refer to Kirkcaldy, which had a population of 46,912 in the 2001 census.

 

[Ivo]

Why does the link to professional or semi-professional football clubs have any relevance to the decision to award city status to settlements ?

Because it is a means of culture that might make some people come visit for a means that actually has nothing to do with the settlement itself as such, even though said cluture does bring a limited degree of benefit to the location but not any improved status.

In short: It doesn't.

But you knew that already We do at least have one less anomaly in the English league system now though.
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I've just found an interesting response from the leader of MK council:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17373780

"This won't change anything - we already regard ourselves as a city.

"And there's a saying that if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck it probably is a duck."

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I've just found an interesting response from the leader of MK council:

Hmm, bitter much?

 

[tbtc]

How about restricting city status to a top twenty/ fifty settlements? That way it would have to mean something.

As things are going, gaining city status is going to be a box ticking exercise rather than joining the elite. You know the way that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro used to be a significant achievement, then it became the benchmark for thousands of people doing charity fundraisers and lost the "cache" that it had? Or getting straight "A"s at GCSE/ A Level was quite something, but then became "the norm" so that they had to increase "A*" etc.

As a suggestion:

* - Places with a population of over 250,000
* - Places with three/four digit telephone codes (e.g. 020 for London, 029 for Cardiff 0141 for Glasgow, 0113 for Leeds)
* - Places with single letter post codes (e.g. B for Birmingham, S for Sheffield)
Population of over

Forget cathedrals (so few people attend regular church services), forget things like Mayors, make being a city something meaningful or forget about it

 

[Eagle]

* - Places with three/four digit telephone codes (e.g. 020 for London, 029 for Cardiff 0141 for Glasgow, 0113 for Leeds)

028 for every settlement in Northern Ireland?