Culture And Memory

Our Heritage: Walsall Community Heritage Fund

To progress from 'Areas of Focus’ status, Walsall must renew the strategic approach to heritage for the future. Delivering community-engaged funding and integrating heritage within placemaking long-term, by updating its approach through co-design in practice. Leveraging our enhanced sector capacity and engagement with hard-to-reach communities and underrepresented heritage will be championed, utilising networks resourced since 2019. Local projects will be funded throughout the programme, with participatory grant making enabling an authentic decision-making board – unlocking ideas across diverse communities and iteratively improving process and accessibility. Addressing identified project development, cashflow and evaluation needs through bespoke localised support, and unlocking wider community perspectives to update the representative Walsall Heritage Action Plan we will enable growth that is both Walsall-centric and attracting investment across public, third and private sectors. From funding to placemaking, this opportunity for activity and policy co-creation increases the sense of ‘Our Heritage’, enabling Walsall to celebrate collective identity.