WHITEHAVEN has failed in its bid to stage the prestigious Great North Exhibition.

However, the area will now be aiming to access cash from a £15 million legacy fund.

An "incredibly strong'' bid had been made by the town to host the 2018 exhibition which aims to boost cultural, creative and design sectors across the North.

However, the consortium who made the Whitehaven bid were told today (Fri) they had not made the shortlist of four.

Celia MacKenzie, chief executive of Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners who were the leading organisation in the bid's consortium, said: "I was initially disappointed.

"However, we are delighted with the positive feedback we received such as our track record of holding large events, working in partnership and our community engagement.''

The consortium, praised for their use of digital media, also made the only web-based bid which made it "stand out''.

Michael Osborne, a Cumbria office director at ARUP who supported the bid, said: "We are disappointed, but it is the beginning not the end. We have been discussing the legacy fund today with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

"The bid was a great opportunity to raise the profile of Cumbria, and we have succeeded in this.''

The £15m legacy fund, financed by the Government, was announced at the same time as the exhibition. It too will aim to attract further cultural investment in the North.

Nine bids were put forward for the exhibition with Blackpool, Bradford, Newcastle-Gateshead and Sheffield being shortlisted.

Whitehaven's bid had also included support from all of the county's top MPs and major councils as well as Britain's Energy Coast Business Cluster, Cumbria Tourism, LDNP, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership as well as the Universities of Cumbria, UCLan and Lancaster.

Sir Gary Verity, chair of the Great Exhibition of the North Board, said: "The quality of all nine submissions was incredibly strong.''

The Great North Exhibition, to run for at least two months, will showcase the great creative, cultural and design sectors across the whole of the North, and boost investment and tourism in the winning region.