There are only six days to go until Chelmsford knows if it is to be a city for the 21st century.

MP Simon Burns has been told the official announcement is next Thursday, March 14.

It comes as bookies William Hill now place Chelmsford in clear fourth in the Queen's Royal Golden Jubilee City 2002 competition

Twenty six towns in England entered the fray back in October.

Chelmsford has been the highest profile seeker of the accolade with a big local campaign all last summer, superb all-sector co-operation on the bid document and a petition and letter writing campaign to the Prime Minister and Queen and an on-going ennvirnonmental campaign "We've Cleaned Up For City."

Princess Elettra Marconi gave her support to Chelmsford's insistence that it is the world's Real Radio City as the place where major development and manufacture of the wonder of thew age was developed by her father and Chelmsford engineers and workers in a personal note to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

There had been no other change in the betting since the Chelmsford bid was first of the bunch to be handed into the Lord Chancellor's department in October.

Now Reading has moved into joint favourite position with Guildford at 4-1 and Swindon is third on 8-1, with Chelmsford 9-1 now trailed by Maidstone and Shrewsbury 10-1; Ipswich 12-1; Colchester 14-1; Milton Keynes on 16-1.

The Queen will endorse the decision of her advisers, unspecified senior civil servants and government ministers, and no explanation of why the eventual winner has been chosen will be given to avoid "post-decision backbiting".

Mr Burns said:"I hope our town is given the status it so richly and rightly deserves".

More about Chelmsford at This Is Chelmsford

Published Monday, March 11, 2002