TAMESIDE has become the first area in the north west to join a National Lottery initiative designed to put heritage at the heart of regeneration.
The borough is now part of Heritage Places, which looks to invest £200 million in up to 20 areas across the UK.
Its aim is to unlock the potential of local heritage to connect communities, revitalise local economies and enable places to thrive.
And according to National Lottery: “With strong foundations and bold ambition, Tameside is poised to transform its heritage into a powerful driver of place-making and prosperity.”
Tameside Council has been working closely with the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund to secure its place in the scheme.
Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Tameside is well known for its rich industrial legacy, but there’s a big breadth of fantastic heritage to discover and enjoy.
“From stunning landscapes to fascinating cultural memories that live on today, it is the ideal choice to be our first Heritage Place in Greater Manchester and more widely the north west of England.
“Our vision is simple: we want heritage to be valued, cared for, and sustained — for everyone, now and for generations to come, and this is made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
“For the last 30 years, our approach has focused on investing in heritage to create better places to live, work and visit.
“Heritage Places builds on this momentum, offering long-term support during challenging times, driving even greater impact, and reaffirming our commitment to heritage across the UK.”
Tameside Council’s leader, Cllr Eleanor Wills, added: “Heritage is incredibly important to us in Tameside.
“It’s not just about our buildings but it’s about our people and communities, our natural landscape, our shared histories and our personal stories – from our industrial heritage and brass bands through to our present day Whit Friday Brass Band contests.
“It is about our extensive canal networks historically linking us to the world and buildings finding new life, such as Ashton Old Baths transforming to a forward-looking digital innovation hub.
“Our heritage is a key part of our future and how we grow, develop and thrive as a borough.
“It’s fantastic to have our wonderful and rich heritage in Tameside recognised at a national level and I’m excited about how this strategic partnership can support us as a wider borough and community to work together to care for, protect, strengthen and grow our cultural and heritage assets going forward.”
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder of heritage in the UK and since 1994 has awarded more than £9 billion to more than 48,000 projects.
They include Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon in Northern Ireland – where the borough council has created a new 10-year Heritage Strategy engaging and consulting with local communities.
In Stoke-On-Trent, the city council has developed a heritage prospectus of capital projects and is working with the University of Staffordshire on heritage skills development.
The other five new Heritage Places are Barking and Dagenham, Belfast Historic Waterfront, Dudley, Orkney Islands and Ynys Môn – Isle of Anglesey.