Index reveals historic places with most potential for ‘levelling-up’

A new report has named the places in England with the most untapped ‘heritage potential’, which could be used to local economies recover from the pandemic.

The RSA Heritage Index 2020, in collaboration with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, looks at which places have the most potential to use historic assets to promote or boost the local area.

The index crowns Castle Point in Essex as having the most ‘heritage potential’, with Chorley in Lancashire and Redditch in Worcestershire coming second and third, respectively.

In the overall index, which looks at place’s existing heritage offer, the City of London came top for the third time. Norwich (third) and Oxford (fourth) move up the rankings, by six and four places respectively.

The report also argues that heritage does not need to solely focus on traditional, built assets, and that heritage also constitutes shared experience, local histories and ‘intangible’ heritage. In the context of new movements to rethink the history of England and the UK, the report calls for a new, inclusive approach to heritage.

The report comes with an interactive map, where people can find their local area.

‘The RSA Heritage Index demonstrates that across England, all areas have heritage which can be better made use of to create inclusive growth and a sense of civic pride,’ said RSA senior researcher, Hannah Webster.

‘Heritage can be a real vehicle for economic growth and keeping money in the local economy – we’re hoping these areas take a look at the amazing heritage assets they have and use them as an opportunity to level up.

‘The question is: what’s next for the heritage sector? It certainly needs support from government to keep things going, but we are hopeful that it can come out of the pandemic with a new generation of supporters. Lockdown has forced us to think more intensely about our local areas, and we’ve seen a colossal uptick in staycationers this year,’ she added.

‘Rethinking how we use our heritage is imperative if the industry is to thrive in the 21st century. The heritage sector, local authorities and others should be looking at how they can use their untapped assets, and how the sector can build back to a more inclusive vision of heritage.’

Photo Credit – Valiphotos (Pixabay)