Heritage and history leading Hyndburn’s future
Council call for new members to join Hyndburn’s Culture and Heritage Investment Panel (CHIP).
Following recent developments, including a bid submission to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for £5million, Hyndburn’s culture focussed strategic panel are inviting new volunteer members, to help guide heritage-led investment opportunities in the borough.
[image: Richard Hooper, CHIP member, presenting to the Historic Places Panel 2023]
Lyndsey Sims, Chair of the Culture and Heritage Investment Panel, said:
“The panel have achieved a huge amount to date and already some of that excellent work can be seen, with new events and initiatives launching each month. The role of the panel is to steer future work, share community insight, bring a range of skills to the table and assist in securing investment and funding opportunities.”
Hyndburn Council are inviting people with a keen interest or previous involvement in Heritage, Culture and Arts projects to get in touch. They are particularly interested in younger people, and those who will bring new diversity and skills to the team. Volunteers must be willing to commit to a few hours of their time each month to meeting others and giving their views on proposals put forward.
Lyndsey continued:
“With multi-million-pound projects now taking shape in Hyndburn it’s a really exciting time to get involved. The panel have recently had input with a £5million bid to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and there are many more upcoming projects.”
[Historic Places Panel visit to Accrington, 2023]
The future vision for Hyndburn builds on the history and heritage of the past for a prosperous future. So far, over £40million of funding has been secured to make transformational plans a reality, this has been achieved through input and steering from the local community and guidance from experts, such as Historic England.
Hyndburn hosted a second visit to the borough from Historic England’s ‘Historic Places Panel’ earlier in 2023. The day included meeting leaders, members of the community, a tour of Accrington and a visit to Raza Jamia Masjid.
The call for new members to the CHIP follows recommendations to Hyndburn following this visit. In a report following the visit the Panel complimented the quick pace and positive progress in Hyndburn within the last 12 months. The report highlighted the Levelling up fund as a “spectacular, once in a generational opportunity for the town” and the appointment of a new Head of Culture and Heritage as a ‘missing piece in the jigsaw’.
One of the recommendations for the future included ensuring that the diverse community of Hyndburn is fully represented in all future work. By expanding the membership of the CHIP, this can be achieved.
[Historic Places Panel, Hyndburn Council representatives and Hyndburn CHIP visit Raza Jamia Masjid]
Historic England’s Charles Smith, said:
“Accrington is a great town in a great location. Its landscape tells a compelling story, from its grand civic buildings to its textile and railway heritage. We immensely enjoyed our most recent visit, in particular a tour of the impressive Raza Jamia Masjid, an exemplar of a building the local community needs at its heart. Hyndburn has made excellent progress since our first visit last year.
“We are pleased that many of our recommendations have already been achieved, including progress on the vision for town centre spaces, and we support the Council’s call for wider community representation on the Investment Panel.”
People interested in learning more about joining Hyndburn’s Culture and Heritage Investment Panel can get in touch by emailing marketing@hyndburnbc.gov.uk with some brief information about your experience and why you want to get involved.