Our Vision: 

We believe that historic buildings and heritage places can become much more than places that preserve the past. They can become living spaces for people, creativity, learning, culture, connection and wellbeing. Our vision is to identify heritage buildings and places across England that are empty, underused or at risk of losing their connection with the community, and explore how they can be carefully restored, respected and brought back into active use. We want to create spaces where the heritage of each place remains at the heart of its identity, while opening the doors to new opportunities for art, culture, education, skills, employment, movement, community participation and wellbeing. By bringing people into these places to learn, create, work, share knowledge, develop skills, experience culture and connect with one another, we can help protect the heritage of the place while also creating new opportunities for the people who live there. Our ambition is to help historic places remain alive, relevant and valued — protecting their stories from the past while creating new stories for the future.

🏛️ Protecting and Keeping Heritage Alive 

Every heritage place has a story. 

We want to understand the history, character, traditions, people and memories connected to each building and its surrounding community, and make these an important part of its future. 

Rather than allowing a historic place to become empty, forgotten or disconnected from everyday life, we want to help bring it back into meaningful use while respecting and protecting what makes it special. 

The history of each place can become part of the activities happening there — through exhibitions, storytelling, local history projects, traditional crafts, community events, creative interpretation and opportunities for people to share their own memories and knowledge. 

The aim is not simply to preserve a building, but to keep its story alive by allowing people to experience, learn from and contribute to it.

🎨 Art and Culture: 

We want heritage spaces to become places where creativity and culture can flourish. 

These spaces could provide opportunities for local artists, makers, performers and creative practitioners to work, exhibit, teach and develop their practice. 

We want to support emerging artists and talented people from the local area, giving them opportunities to develop their skills, gain experience, connect with audiences and potentially create sustainable creative careers. 

The heritage of each place can also inspire new artistic work — allowing artists to interpret local history, stories, landscapes, traditions and identity through contemporary art and culture. 

This creates a connection between the creativity of today and the heritage of yesterday.

🎓 Learning and Skills 

We want these spaces to be places where people can learn something new and develop skills that can stay with them for life. 

Activities could include art, traditional crafts, making, heritage skills, creative technology, cultural learning and other practical or creative subjects connected to each individual place. 

Where appropriate, programmes could provide certificates, accredited training or recognised qualifications through suitable partners, helping participants progress from informal learning into further education, volunteering, employment or creative careers. 

Young people could discover skills and interests that they may never have encountered elsewhere. 

Adults could develop new abilities, retrain or build confidence. 

Older generations could pass traditional knowledge and practical skills to younger people. 

Learning becomes part of keeping heritage alive.

💼 Opportunities, Employment and Local Talent 

We want heritage spaces to create opportunities for the communities around them. 

Bringing a building back into active use can create opportunities for local people to work, volunteer, teach, create, perform, organise and develop new skills. 

Where possible, we want to support local employment and create pathways for people who develop skills through the programme to take their next step. 

This could include opportunities for artists, creative practitioners, teachers, workshop leaders, heritage workers, event organisers, administrators, volunteers and other roles connected to the life of the space. 

We particularly want to create opportunities for young and emerging local talent, helping talented people develop experience and build connections without having to leave their community to find opportunities. 

The space can therefore become part of the local creative and economic ecosystem — not simply a building that people visit.

❤️ Wellbeing, Connection and Mental Health. 

We believe that having welcoming places where people can create, learn, move, participate and connect with others can make an important contribution to community wellbeing. 

Many people experience loneliness, isolation, lack of confidence or a lack of opportunities to participate in their local community. 

A heritage space brought back to life can provide somewhere safe, welcoming and meaningful to go. 

Someone might come to learn an art technique. 

Someone else might join a movement or wellbeing activity. 

Another person might volunteer, teach a skill, meet new people or simply become part of a community. 

Through creative and cultural participation, social connection, learning and activity, we want to help create communities where people feel more connected, valued, active and involved. 

We will work with appropriate local organisations and specialist partners where activities require specific wellbeing or mental health expertise.

🌱 Keeping the Place Alive for the Future. 

The ultimate goal is sustainability. 

We want each project to develop a realistic long-term future rather than relying permanently on short-term funding. 

By combining heritage, creative activity, education, skills development, employment, community participation and appropriate income-generating activities, we want to create spaces that can continue serving their communities for many years. 

The heritage building becomes part of an ongoing cycle: 

Protect the heritage → bring people in → create opportunities → develop skills → support local talent → strengthen community connection → improve wellbeing → create value → keep the heritage alive.

Our Long-Term Ambition: 

We want to develop this approach across England, working with communities and partners to discover heritage places that could have a new and meaningful future. 

Every place will be different. 

Every building will have its own history. 

Every community will have its own needs. 

We do not want to impose the same programme everywhere. 

Instead, we want to understand what makes each place special, listen to the people who live there, and develop activities that connect its heritage with the opportunities and needs of its community today. 

Our ambition is to help create a growing network of Heritage Spaces for Wellbeing, Art and Culture — places where the past is respected, the present is supported and the future is created by the people who live there. 

Keeping heritage alive by keeping people connected to it.