DUNDEE will find out within the next few weeks if the UK Government will pull the plug on its bid to become European City of Culture.

Westminster is required to make a decision on whether any UK city will go forward for the 2023 title by the close of 2016 and is expected to do so well in advance of the Christmas period.

But there have been rumblings from London that the UK Government may withdraw from the competition on funding grounds due to the Brexit vote.

Read more: Beyond Brexit - 'Poisonous' Brexit rhetoric could damage Edinburgh International Festival, says director

Dundee has already set aside £250,000 to help secure the title, which could deliver hundreds of millions to the local economy.

Liverpool, the last British recipient of the honour, is said to have benefited by almost £800 million since 2008.

A precedent has been set allowing in non-EU countries to hold the title, with Novi Sad in Serbia hosting it in 2021.

But there are worries around how the European City of Culture 2023 competition will be handled, with the UK outside the EU.

Read more: Beyond Brexit - 'Poisonous' Brexit rhetoric could damage Edinburgh International Festival, says director

A Government spokesman said: “The people of the UK have voted to leave the EU. Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member with all the rights and obligations of membership.

“The outcome of these negotiations will determine what arrangements apply in relation to EU-administered programmes once the UK has left the EU.

“We want a new relationship to reflect the kind of mature, cooperative relationship that close friends and allies enjoy.”

Asked on the latest thinking about their bid, Dundee City Council referred to its report of June 27, four days after the vote to leave, which spells out the authority’s plan and makes no mention of Brexit.

Read more: Beyond Brexit - 'Poisonous' Brexit rhetoric could damage Edinburgh International Festival, says director

Three other parts of the UK, Leeds, Cornwall, and Milton Keynes, are also bidding for the title and have already spent years preparing bids and invested hundreds of thousands of pounds.