WELLINGTON HEADS FOR CITTASLOW...
'Cittaslow’ (Italian for ‘slow city’ or ‘slow town’) is an international network of towns that work towards a set of goals which aim to improve quality of life.
Cittaslow is about caring for your town – about protecting the environment, promoting local goods and produce, and preserving the places, the businesses and traditions that make it distinctive. In other words, its about avoiding the ‘sameness’ that afflicts so many modern towns and cities.
There are currently five official 'slow towns' in the UK, and Wellington is bidding to be the next. This bid is being co-ordinated by a working group made up of representatives from local organisations, including the town council and town partnership, with arts and heritage group Wellington H2A taking the lead. To mark the launch of the bid, 100 Wellington eco-bags have been produced and are on sale for £3.50 each at Lesley's Larder, Ken Francis Butchers, Busy Bees and Shoes in the Square.
Local businesses supporting Cittaslow by selling the recently launched eco-bags, made from jute.
WHY DOES WELLINGTON NEED TO BE A ‘CITTASLOW’?
To achieve Cittaslow status would be a huge bonus for Wellington, and would prove to the world that we are committed to making our town a better place to live, work and visit. It would help us to promote those independent shops, stalls, pubs and restaurants that use quality local suppliers, and would attract others to follow their example. That in turn would make Wellington a more interesting place to be, would benefit the local economy, and also the environment (by reducing the distance that our goods travel before they reach us).
At present, only a handful of other UK towns are Cittaslows, nearby Ludlow amongst them, but the list of those taking an interest is growing all the time. Above all, this would be a way to raise our profile for all the right reasons and help put Wellington back on the map.
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA TO BECOME A ‘CITTASLOW’?
Towns bidding to become Cittaslow are assessed against a range a criteria, from the promotion of local heritage to the encouragement of recyling and the availability of locally made food and drink. Towns must score at least 50% against the criteria to join the network. Thanks to the work of the town and borough councils, the town partnership, Local Agenda 21, the Civic Society and a handful of excellent businesses, much that Cittaslow encourages is already happening here in Wellington, so we’re starting from a strong position. But if we’re going to show the judges that we really believe in this as a town, we need your support. If you want to see Wellington become England’s next Cittaslow, sign up here by filling in and submitting the form below.
Or, for more information on Cittaslow in the UK, visit
