Milton Keynes is one of the worst towns for culture, a Heritage Index by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA) has claimed.
Despite boasting leading live entertainment venue MK Theatre, a state of the art gallery and hosting various art events such as Walking with Giants and International Festival, the new town ranked 322 out of 325 in the Hertiage Index, behind Luton, Warrington and North Kesteven.
The list was calculated by tallying up different areas’ cultural assets and dividing them by its size.
Using over 100 data sets, the Heritage Index took a range of features into account, including nature reserves, heritage open days, archaeological groups, blue plaques and designated local foods such as Cornish Pasties.
Despite Milton Keynes being home to relatively high levels of heritage activity, the RSA found it operates no sight-seeing tours or visitor centres – contributing to its low ranking.
Ironically, Milton Keynes Council unanimously passed a motion earlier this year to pursue a bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2023.
It also opened a new visitor information centre in July, 2015.
Top reasons why Milton Keynes is a top town for culture:
- It is one of 12 host cities for the Rugby World Cup
- It is home to one of the leading theatres in the UK – MK Theatre
- It headquarters Infinity Red Bull
- Every two years it hosts the International Festival
- Bletchley Park is one of the top tourists attractions in the UK
- The historical market towns of Stony Stratford, Newport Pagnell, Wolverton and Olney are just a stone’s-throw away from the city centre
- The Stables is Milton Keynes’ premier live-music venue offering a wide range of musical genres
- Milton Keynes is home to the National Bowl which hosts events such as Electric Daisy Carnival and stages gigs for the likes of the Foo Fighters and Swedish House Mafia