There's only one thing surer than rain in August, and that's the certainty that a row will blow up when any council decides to change its logo. Reaction to Oldham's decision to knock its traditional owl off its perch – at a reported cost of £100,000 – and replace it with a sort of blue target board had many people expressing the view that it was an ‘unwise' move. Generally, logo changes are unpopular. I remember when I worked for the BBC, and huge fees were paid to get rid of the gentle sloping BBC letters with coloured lines underneath. We all held our breath wondering what the creative brainstorming of the image consultants would result in. The letters BBC in stark black boxes were a major disappointment. Anyway, the new unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester has come up with a super wheeze to avoid such controversies. From the outset, its approach is to ‘trust the people'. A competition is just closing where residents and businesses in Chester, Northwich, Ellesmere Port and elsewhere have been challenged to design a logo for the new authority. The prize? A modest £500, which will bring howls of anguish from all those image consultants denied their fat fee. Entrants have been charged with the task of coming up with something which would project the new council as dynamic, professional and fresh. That's a surprise! The other requirement was to include the somewhat-lengthy full name of the council in the design – quite a challenge, one might think. The council is taking a risk in spurning the professionals, because it, presumably, will have to choose one of the ‘amateur' entries. But it's a neat way of bypassing a predictable row before the new council has even levied a tax or emptied a bin.
