UK City of Culture 2021 could create 2,000 extra jobs in Coventry, it is claimed.
The estimate came from David Burbidge, chairman of the Coventry City of Culture Trust.
He was speaking at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s #CWRocks trade expo at the Ricoh Arena.
It would come at some cost upfront to city taxpayers with Coventry City Council already committing several million pounds to the project.
But direct grant funding and indirect investment is expected to drawf those costs, bringing net gains to the city.
The Trust itself is expanding its own team to 45 and building capacity to formulate and implement its strategy for the coming years. The larger team is expected to hit the ground running later this year.
Mr Burbidge said: “The support we had from the business community in this region was a very significant part of our bid and I believe it helped to set us apart from other cities.
“I must thank Louise Bennett and the team at the Chamber for their backing which came very early in the campaign. It was a big contribution in its own right but it also acted as a catalyst for other businesses – especially SMEs – to come on board.
“Being UK City of Culture will lead to a huge amount of investment in the city – the title is a trigger for investment and we’ve already seen positive news on that front.
“It is also a trigger for new jobs and the forecast, based on what happened in Hull and other many other factors, is 2,000. I think that’s rather conservative and believe it could be many more.
“There is no question that it changed Hull profoundly and, as a city, it set the benchmark very high. We want it to have an even bigger impact in Coventry and want to raise the bar even higher.”
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Just a few months on from that emotional night at the Belgrade Theatre when we found out Coventry had won UK City of Culture, we are already beginning to see a change in the way the city – and the wider region – is talked about.
“The business community played a major part in the bidding process and will be a key partner in the build-up and delivery of the year itself.”
Pictured (left to right): Learning Labs facilitator Adam Dent (Advent Communications), Louise Bennett, David Burbidge
