The heritage minister has announced the latest historic places that are set to be revived — and the sites are mostly concentrated in the North and Midlands.
In a speech delivered today, John Glen, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, revealed eight historic places which would join the 10 other sites already in the Heritage Action Zone scheme.
Run by Historic England, this scheme helps local authorities ‘unlock untapped potential’ in places that are rich in history by, for example, bringing back into use neglected listed buildings as housing, retail or community spaces.
The Heritage Action Zone scheme was set up earlier this year.
The eight new sites 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
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.
‘Our heritage not only tells the story of our past, it creates great places to live, work and visit,’ said Mr Glen.
‘The Heritage Action Zone scheme is designed to make the most out of the historic environment to kick-start regeneration, increase tourism and boost investment in our towns and cities.’
Image: northallertonman / Shutterstock.com.