A Heritage Strategy for Gloucester City: 2019 - 2029

The draft heritage strategy has been funded as part of the key strand ‘Achieving Regeneration in the City through Heritage” (ARCH) within the Great Place scheme, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England. The Great Place scheme places a strategic focus on enhancing Gloucester’s heritage for all and embeds a culture of developing an holistic approach to the regeneration of the city centre through the development of a heritage strategy which will in turn aid proactive working with developers, members, stakeholders and partners, whether professional or residents of the City over the next ten years and beyond. We have commissioned Urban Enterprise CIC to complete the work and this is the second stage of development of a heritage strategy for Gloucester.

This second consultation follows on from the consultation in June 2018 where we asked you for your thoughts and perceptions on heritage and its role in the City from a wide range of stakeholders whether you are a resident, business, tenant, developer or visitor to the city.  We held a number of events, workshops and spoke to individual stakeholders regarding all aspects of the historic environment from planning to monument management, museums and leisure to tourism and branding. We have taken your comments and shaped a heritage strategy and vision for Gloucester for the next 10 years and set out a number of aspirations and opportunities to be taken forward by the City Council and its partner organisations.

Heritage is a key component in the effective delivery of sustainable growth. It contributes to the creation of a competitive City Centre, support for the diverse needs of local communities, and the creation and maintenance of a high quality and sustainable environment. The historic environment is an integral part of the wider regeneration, economic development, tourism and cultural aspirations of the City of Gloucester.

This draft strategy has been written as a collaboration between local and national heritage organisations, including the City Council, Gloucester Civic Trust, Gloucester Historic Buildings Trust, Gloucester Heritage Forum, and Historic England. Its delivery will require collaboration and close working between those partners to draw upon each other’s strengths and to attract the necessary resources to maximize the 10 year vision the strategy puts forward.  The adopted strategy will provide a key component of the evidence base informing the emerging Gloucester City Plan and its policies.

To inform your response, we've set out a list of questions and you can access these by clicking on the link

The documents can be viewed on the City Councils Website http://www.gloucester.gov.uk and viewing current consultations

To help you in responding, the following is a definition of what constitutes heritage, taken from the International Cultural Tourism Charter (ICOMOS, 2002):

'Heritage is a broad concept and includes the natural as well as the cultural environment. It encompasses landscapes, historic places, sites and built environments, as well as bio-diversity, collections, past and continuing cultural practices, knowledge and living experiences. It records and expresses the long processes of historic development, forming the essence of diverse national, regional, indigenous and local identities and is an integral part of modern life. It is a social dynamic reference point and positive instrument for growth and change. The particular heritage and collective memory of each locality or community is irreplaceable and an important foundation for development, both now and into the future.'

If you have any questions on the heritage strategy please contact heritage@gloucester.gov.uk

This consultation has now closed.