Outdated view of heritage stunting economic growth, report warns

A new approach to heritage could have significant social and economic benefits for regional and minority communities in the UK, according to a new report.

The report by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) said a more inclusive approach to heritage could help broaden its audience and boost local economies.

As worldwide calls to re-think historical narratives as the Black Lives Matter movement gain momentum, the report considers a radical new approach to building more inclusive local economies through heritage.

The RSA concludes that heritage assets and activities can be vital in supporting local economic development and community wellbeing, as well as helping to achieve other social and environmental goals.

These include innovative approaches to curating museums, building community groups rooted in local history, and council-led initiatives to rejuvenate local areas.

‘The Downton Abbey image of heritage – focused on stately homes and the more well-known parts of our national story – just doesn’t do justice to the rich history and diverse stories across our country,’ said RSA researcher, Becca Antink.

‘In recent years conventional economic thinking has been seriously challenged. Much of the economic growth of the past decade has been centred on financial and urban hubs, without spreading into local communities and the regions.

‘We need to change the way we think about growth, towards an understanding which also recognises social and environmental impacts, and is sustainable and rooted in places,’ she added.

‘Our research suggests that heritage could be a key vehicle for driving inclusive growth and building more resilient and inclusive communities. From Margate to Dundee, there are many examples of local initiatives using heritage to renew local areas. We hope that council leaders and those in the heritage sector recognise the value of using our shared history to create inclusive local economies and communities.’

The head of arts and society at the British Council, Stephen Stenning, added: ‘We are very grateful for the work that the RSA have done on this report highlighting the vital contribution heritage can make to peoples’ lives – through a sense of place, of belonging, connection and identity.  It also highlights the important role heritage can and should play as a driver of inclusive growth, re-energising, re-vitalising and renewing communities.

‘Now, more than ever, it is important not to dismiss Heritage as a way of asserting a narrow view of history or pointing up key figures and moments that sustain inaccurate and outdated narratives. Heritage can help us explore and celebrate diverse and complicated pasts and it can also inform how we structure a better future. It offers a way of reassessing the local and the global. On a personal note it is great to see the highlighting of my home city of Dundee.’

Photo Credit – Jamie Hailstone