Boston Borough Council will be working with partners to develop a bid for the town to receive City Status as part of a competition launched to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year.

Her Majesty the Queen has approved a competition to grant the prestigious and rare civic honour of ‘city status’ to a select number of towns and cities in the UK for the first time in a decade. Councils have until December 8 to apply and will be judged on civic pride, heritage and innovation.

Portfolio for Heritage, Cllr Richard Austin, said: “It is fantastic news that a civic honours competition is being held. As a Borough we are immensely proud of our history and heritage and following a conversation between Group Leaders on the Council is was decided that a bid should be developed for submission to Government for ‘City’ status.  The bid would be developed with partners and its submission would be subject to Council approval later in the year.

“The competition gives us great opportunity to highlight Boston’s heritage and its worldwide connections by showcasing the people and places that make Boston so unique and worthy of such an accolade.

“Having recently secured significant Government investment of “£21.9m through the Towns’ Fund; and submitted a bid for a further £20m from the Government’s Levelling Up fund, over the coming years we expect to see Boston further transform and become an even more popular place to live, work, visit and invest.”