Heritage Strategy Consultation - Key actions

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What are the key actions set out in the draft strategy?

Feedback from the engagement events was used to create five overarching actions to achieving the strategy’s vision.

Action 1: Safeguarding heritage for the future

Safeguarding and protecting heritage for the future was identified as a priority for many people. This included protecting specific buildings, landscapes, natural features and waterways, as well as preserving more intangible heritage like dialect, and community memories that connected them to their family and homes.

Taking action to safeguard our shared heritage will take many forms and must be a collective effort between the Council, residents, partners, and other stakeholders.

Safeguarding heritage for the future would mean:

  • People of all ages have the opportunity to learn about heritage.
  • Heritage contractors, museums and colleges are brought together to develop new pathways through to working in the heritage sector.
  • New opportunities are created for young people such as heritage events, groups, and projects that young people are interested in.
  • The heritage of the borough is safeguarded for future generations.
  • The heritage sector has strong leadership and is better connected enabling greater collaboration, better heritage outcomes and more people being involved in heritage.
  • Heritage organisations play a key leadership role and have shared ownership with the rest of the cultural sector.
  • Cohesive approach to heritage communications and interpretation across the borough.
  • Heritage is prioritised at all levels of the Council and there is political leadership for heritage.
  • Conservation areas are better known and maintained in the borough.

Action 2: Championing diverse heritage for a diverse borough.

Cheshire West’s Heritage should represent everyone’s past. The inclusion of a wide range of people and their histories reflects the borough's unique background and portrays the breadth of its stories.

Championing diverse heritage includes making heritage accessible and inclusive to all – physically, intellectually, and emotionally.

Championing diverse heritage for a diverse borough would mean:

  • Everyone has the opportunity get involved with inclusive and accessible heritage.
  • Opportunities for existing heritage groups and organisations to interact and attract new members.
  • Heritage organisations have wider opportunities to communicate and collaborate.
  • Encouraging people who have often been left out in history to tell their stories and experiences and promoting opportunities to preserve them.
  • Volunteering opportunities in the heritage sector in the borough are well advertised and open to all.
  • More people are involved in heritage and have the value of their heritage recognised, by continuing partnerships with organisations who work with a wide range of people with different lived experience.
  • The diverse heritage of the borough is recognised.
  • The heritage sector is better connected and can collaborate more effectively.
  • Young people recognise the value in their neighbourhoods and communities through targeted opportunities to meet and get involved with heritage.
  • Communities understand each other’s perspectives and stories through heritage.

Action 3: Supporting local identity, connections and placemaking.

The importance of local identity and the recognition of distinctive local character was expressed during the engagement exercise. Participants held strong attachments and connections to the areas in which they lived and felt this contributed to their personal and collective heritage.

Recognising and supporting opportunities and places for people to come together where they live can help people to better understand their community and connect with their past in a meaningful way. By supporting these opportunities, local issues are better understood leading to better decision making.

Supporting local identity, connections and placemaking would mean:

  • Continued and enhanced appreciation of the history of our neighbourhoods.
  • Promoting active travel routes for walking and cycling, which are created reusing historic locations such as old train lines, waterways, former industrial sites, and green spaces.
  • Opportunities for local communities to access heritage and cultural skills.
  • Shared stories and experiences add to our sense of community and belonging.
  • Opportunities for social interaction, such as promoting and encouraging local heritage volunteering opportunities.
  • Local history and heritage are recognised and celebrated. For example, contributing to the Cheshire Local List Project.

Action 4: Using heritage resources to tackle climate change

Climate change is one of the most difficult and demanding issues of our time. It is both an immediate and a long-term challenge that requires continuous and collective action. Heritage is not only affected by the impacts of climate change but also by our responses to it.

Heritage, in all its forms, is a crucial tool in tackling climate change. There are two areas where heritage can respond to climate change.

  • Mitigation – reducing our impact on the causes of climate change.

For example, historic buildings and places have embodied carbon (the amount of carbon emitted when original building materials were made), by conserving these buildings and places we not only retain and re-use heritage assets, but we also avoid the often-ineffective process of demolition. Another example is limiting emissions by using fuel more efficiently through sensitive insulation of buildings.

  • Adaptation – adapting to the changes that are already, or will, happen.

For example, planning for a sustainable future by incorporating climate and ecological sustainability into heritage planning and funding, prioritising environmental quality, sustainable living, and transportation.

Using heritage resources to tackle climate change would mean:

  • Thinking differently about how we adapt to look after, use, and re-use our historic buildings and places.
  • Natural heritage is conserved and utilised to its full potential. For example, opening up areas of nature to be enjoyed and experienced in a sensitive way.
  • Share experiences and best practice to help reduce emissions. For instance, within the planning and construction industry, the use of new renewable energy technology in the refurbishment and updating of historic buildings.


Action 5: Unlocking the economic potential of our heritage.

Heritage is fundamentally linked to economic activity, with many economic activities occurring within it, dependent on it or drawn to it. Whilst we often initially think of tourism as being important in relation to the heritage economy, the economic potential of heritage is also closely linked with our housing, businesses, leisure time, and as a backdrop to our daily lives.

Unlocking the economic potential of our heritage would mean:

  • Valuing the work of volunteers by supporting the wealth of heritage events and attractions in the borough.
  • Community organisations helping to bring in funding to support heritage projects across the borough.
  • Heritage-led regeneration delivering a broad range of social and economic benefits, such as creating jobs and bringing investment into the borough.
  • Continuing to grow the economy by attracting visitors and businesses to the borough by investing in Heritage projects.
  • Opportunity to share resources between communities, businesses, and partners.
  • Opportunity for learning and to close heritage skills gap.

What are the key actions set out in the draft strategy?

Feedback from the engagement events was used to create five overarching actions to achieving the strategy’s vision.

Action 1: Safeguarding heritage for the future

Safeguarding and protecting heritage for the future was identified as a priority for many people. This included protecting specific buildings, landscapes, natural features and waterways, as well as preserving more intangible heritage like dialect, and community memories that connected them to their family and homes.

Taking action to safeguard our shared heritage will take many forms and must be a collective effort between the Council, residents, partners, and other stakeholders.

Safeguarding heritage for the future would mean:

  • People of all ages have the opportunity to learn about heritage.
  • Heritage contractors, museums and colleges are brought together to develop new pathways through to working in the heritage sector.
  • New opportunities are created for young people such as heritage events, groups, and projects that young people are interested in.
  • The heritage of the borough is safeguarded for future generations.
  • The heritage sector has strong leadership and is better connected enabling greater collaboration, better heritage outcomes and more people being involved in heritage.
  • Heritage organisations play a key leadership role and have shared ownership with the rest of the cultural sector.
  • Cohesive approach to heritage communications and interpretation across the borough.
  • Heritage is prioritised at all levels of the Council and there is political leadership for heritage.
  • Conservation areas are better known and maintained in the borough.

Action 2: Championing diverse heritage for a diverse borough.

Cheshire West’s Heritage should represent everyone’s past. The inclusion of a wide range of people and their histories reflects the borough's unique background and portrays the breadth of its stories.

Championing diverse heritage includes making heritage accessible and inclusive to all – physically, intellectually, and emotionally.

Championing diverse heritage for a diverse borough would mean:

  • Everyone has the opportunity get involved with inclusive and accessible heritage.
  • Opportunities for existing heritage groups and organisations to interact and attract new members.
  • Heritage organisations have wider opportunities to communicate and collaborate.
  • Encouraging people who have often been left out in history to tell their stories and experiences and promoting opportunities to preserve them.
  • Volunteering opportunities in the heritage sector in the borough are well advertised and open to all.
  • More people are involved in heritage and have the value of their heritage recognised, by continuing partnerships with organisations who work with a wide range of people with different lived experience.
  • The diverse heritage of the borough is recognised.
  • The heritage sector is better connected and can collaborate more effectively.
  • Young people recognise the value in their neighbourhoods and communities through targeted opportunities to meet and get involved with heritage.
  • Communities understand each other’s perspectives and stories through heritage.

Action 3: Supporting local identity, connections and placemaking.

The importance of local identity and the recognition of distinctive local character was expressed during the engagement exercise. Participants held strong attachments and connections to the areas in which they lived and felt this contributed to their personal and collective heritage.

Recognising and supporting opportunities and places for people to come together where they live can help people to better understand their community and connect with their past in a meaningful way. By supporting these opportunities, local issues are better understood leading to better decision making.

Supporting local identity, connections and placemaking would mean:

  • Continued and enhanced appreciation of the history of our neighbourhoods.
  • Promoting active travel routes for walking and cycling, which are created reusing historic locations such as old train lines, waterways, former industrial sites, and green spaces.
  • Opportunities for local communities to access heritage and cultural skills.
  • Shared stories and experiences add to our sense of community and belonging.
  • Opportunities for social interaction, such as promoting and encouraging local heritage volunteering opportunities.
  • Local history and heritage are recognised and celebrated. For example, contributing to the Cheshire Local List Project.

Action 4: Using heritage resources to tackle climate change

Climate change is one of the most difficult and demanding issues of our time. It is both an immediate and a long-term challenge that requires continuous and collective action. Heritage is not only affected by the impacts of climate change but also by our responses to it.

Heritage, in all its forms, is a crucial tool in tackling climate change. There are two areas where heritage can respond to climate change.

  • Mitigation – reducing our impact on the causes of climate change.

For example, historic buildings and places have embodied carbon (the amount of carbon emitted when original building materials were made), by conserving these buildings and places we not only retain and re-use heritage assets, but we also avoid the often-ineffective process of demolition. Another example is limiting emissions by using fuel more efficiently through sensitive insulation of buildings.

  • Adaptation – adapting to the changes that are already, or will, happen.

For example, planning for a sustainable future by incorporating climate and ecological sustainability into heritage planning and funding, prioritising environmental quality, sustainable living, and transportation.

Using heritage resources to tackle climate change would mean:

  • Thinking differently about how we adapt to look after, use, and re-use our historic buildings and places.
  • Natural heritage is conserved and utilised to its full potential. For example, opening up areas of nature to be enjoyed and experienced in a sensitive way.
  • Share experiences and best practice to help reduce emissions. For instance, within the planning and construction industry, the use of new renewable energy technology in the refurbishment and updating of historic buildings.


Action 5: Unlocking the economic potential of our heritage.

Heritage is fundamentally linked to economic activity, with many economic activities occurring within it, dependent on it or drawn to it. Whilst we often initially think of tourism as being important in relation to the heritage economy, the economic potential of heritage is also closely linked with our housing, businesses, leisure time, and as a backdrop to our daily lives.

Unlocking the economic potential of our heritage would mean:

  • Valuing the work of volunteers by supporting the wealth of heritage events and attractions in the borough.
  • Community organisations helping to bring in funding to support heritage projects across the borough.
  • Heritage-led regeneration delivering a broad range of social and economic benefits, such as creating jobs and bringing investment into the borough.
  • Continuing to grow the economy by attracting visitors and businesses to the borough by investing in Heritage projects.
  • Opportunity to share resources between communities, businesses, and partners.
  • Opportunity for learning and to close heritage skills gap.