Community Heritage

Summary of project

The project is designed to work with the rural communities of Wrexham to identify, develop, support and evaluate new methods for them to gain social, economic and environmental benefits from the heritage resources from their area. The project will act as an umbrella under which a range of activities can be developed and undertaken to meet the community’s innovative ideas quickly and responsively.

This project will build on the experience gained in this type of community engagement through the successful LEADER+ Open Churches Network Project by getting interested groups to develop and undertake individual activities.

Wrexham has a wealth of industrial heritage in its rural areas and many local history groups and societies have a wealth of expertise and this project would give them the opportunity and identity to celebrate its value.

Wrexham County Borough Council has developed a Heritage strategy and a Heritage Forum is in its infancy and has been established with volunteers from across the County Borough.

The project will:

• Initiate and implement a range of marketing activities and promotional activities to raise awareness and encourage local communities to actively engage with their heritage
• Provide a programme of capacity building opportunities relating to the preservation and promotion of local heritage assets;
• Facilitate a series of community exhibitions and events to establish what aspects of heritage are valued and perceived to be distinctive to the locality and
• Identify and implement initiatives for joint working between organisations that support local heritage.