John Glen, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, today announced in a speech the latest historic places that are set to be revived through the Heritage Action Zone scheme, include Grimsby, once the largest fishing port in the world, Rochdale, the birthplace of the modern co-operative movement and Stoke on Trent, home of the pottery industry.
Heritage Action Zones, which first came into being earlier this year, supports local authorities to unlock untapped potential in places that are rich in history and historic fabric to help them thrive, and improve quality of life for communities and businesses.
Activity in each Heritage Action Zone is based on local need and ranges from bringing back into use neglected listed buildings as housing, retail or community spaces; improving conservation areas to kick start regeneration and developing historic sites as visitor attractions.
The new eight Heritage Action Zones are:
- Bishop Auckland, North East
- Stockton and Darlington Railway, North East
- Dewsbury Living Market Town, Yorkshire
- Rochdale Town Centre, North West
- Greater Grimsby, East Midlands
- Stoke-on-Trent Ceramic, West Midlands
- North Lowestoft Heritage Quarter, East of England
- Walworth, London
This is the second wave of Heritage Action Zones. Work is already underway in ten Heritage Action Zones across England. In each place, work is carried out over three to five years with Historic England working in partnership with local authorities through grant funding, training and skill-sharing. The public body has teams across the country that equip councils to spot heritage potential, restore neglected places and ensure new developments reflect local character and identity.
For more information, visit historicengland.org.uk/heritageactionzones