Agenda item

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Kimberley Whitehead, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Sport, seeking approval of the proposed Hyndburn Culture and Heritage Strategy (2025-2030).

In the absence of Councillor Whitehead, the Leader of the Council provided a brief introduction to the report.  The draft strategy was the product of a collaboration of many voices and thanks were due to all who had contributed to its development.  The Culture and Heritage Investment Panel (CHIP) had also made some changes to the original document.  The Strategy should help to preserve the Borough’s rich heritage and enhance tourism and educational opportunities.  The Strategy would link into inward investment, including the plans for the Dome, at Market Chambers.

Councillor Khan commented that the events now being held and draft Strategy were a credit to the officers and partners who supported them.  He enquired about the outcome measures identified in section 6 of the document and asked if these were open-ended, or intended to be completed by the end of 2025/26.  Councillor Dad responded that the Strategy had taken longer to finalise than originally anticipated and that outcome targets would need to be open-ended.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Accrington’s Town Centre Stakeholder Board had identified that culture and heritage activity should be a key strategic component of the efforts to drive regeneration in Accrington, and indeed the wider Borough.  Heritage was one of the central themes in the Council’s Town Centre Investment Plan (TCIP).  Hyndburn’s successful UKSPF bid for funding through to March 2025 had included a significant package of measures to support the arts, culture and heritage.  One of these was the development of a Culture and Heritage Strategy.

CT Consults had been procured in late 2023 and over the following months had conducted research and consultation to inform a draft strategy.  Their development work had included several interviews and workshops with people across the Borough and a draft strategy had been presented to the Culture and Heritage Investment Panel (CHIP) in April 2024.  Some changes had been made to reflect the appointment and direction of a Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Arts (now Culture, Heritage and Sport) following the May 2024 local elections.  The draft document had then been shared widely to over 100 consultees.

A considerable amount of feedback had been received, in particular from the Towns Board and Better Places Panel (Arts Council England, Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund).  This had led to significant changes being made to the proposed strategy following a meeting of CHIP and other local stakeholders in January 2025.

The CHIP believed that the resulting redrafted Culture and Heritage Strategy had a clearer sense of Hyndburn’s assets and what made it different from other places, while focusing on links between people and between the past and the present.  This reflected a recommendation from the Historic Places visit, which said, “Connecting people with their common heritage (such as textiles) - rather than focusing on differences - will be a key to this”.  The strategic objectives and values were similar to the original draft, although had been further refined by the CHIP.  The strategy also included an action plan. 

This strategy was intended for a wide range of stakeholders, including residents, community groups, cultural organisations, artists, businesses, educators, and policymakers.  It:

·         provided a framework for collaboration, investment, and participation, ensuring that culture and heritage played a vital role in Hyndburn’s regeneration, community wellbeing, and creative growth;

·         aligned with national and regional cultural investment priorities, including the UK Shared Prosperity Fund’s commitment to economic growth, creative industries, and place-based regeneration;

·         reflected Arts Council England’s Investment Principles by ensuring inclusivity in cultural participation, supporting artist-led innovation, and embedding sustainability in Hyndburn’s creative ecosystem; and

·         supported the UK Government’s mission to ‘kickstart economic growth in every community’ by investing in skills, heritage-led regeneration, and cultural entrepreneurship.

The strategy was built around three key objectives:

·         Building Audiences and Cultural Participation

-       Expanding cultural access and engagement, ensuring culture was inclusive and community-driven.

·         Developing Skills, Talent, and Creative Enterprise

-       Creating jobs and training opportunities in heritage conservation, creative industries, and digital storytelling.

·         Connecting Contemporary Culture and Heritage

-       Repurposing historic sites as living cultural spaces and strengthening the borough’s creative identity.

Rather than a traditional vision for a strategy, CT Consults proposed that Hyndburn adopted a new, values-based way of working and CHIP had agreed to this approach.  Visions could change, but values were constant and could help to galvanise stakeholders and communities.  The values were directly informed by Hyndburn’s cultural heritage.  The values were detailed within the document and were:

·         Creativity: Colour, expression, and energy;

·         Community: Strength in community and inclusion; and

·         Connections: Connecting ideas, people, and places

There were no alternative options for consideration or reasons

Resolved                                    -    That Cabinet approves the Culture and Heritage Strategy, as appended to the report.