Thursday 25th January 2007
(ref:
WLCT14/2007)
Wigan Borough’s proud heritage is exciting, thought-provoking and challenging. That is the message Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is hearing from the public as they move towards finalising a new vision for heritage services in the borough.
During the last year, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s Heritage Services team has undertaken extensive consultation with local heritage groups, members of the public and staff, to find out exactly what heritage means to different people.
As a result of the consultation, a five year vision for Heritage Services is currently being developed. The vision will help to reshape Wigan’s Heritage Services in the best interests of local people and those with a particularly keen interest in heritage.
Ian Bancroft, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s Executive Director for Libraries, Heritage and Information, said,
“This new five year vision aims to give the public greater opportunities to learn about the borough’s rich and exciting heritage. The ideas that come out of the vision will result in some quite significant changes to the way we deliver the service; all of which we feel will be positive in the long term.”
“It is clear that heritage means more to people than just buildings. Although we place great value in our main venues, such as the History Shop, Wigan Pier, Leigh Local History and Leigh Archives, we want our team to get out into the community more delivering workshops and activities in areas where people do not have easy access to the borough’s heritage. Heritage invokes a sense of pride in the community and by taking our service to the people we hope to develop that feeling further.”
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is currently consulting with regular users and other groups to look at how the opening hours at the History Shop and the Leigh venues can be changed to allow staff more time to develop all of the vital elements of the new vision.
The trust is proposing to open the History Shop for 21 hours per week and Leigh Local History and Leigh Archives for one day per week.
Carole Tyldesley, Head of Heritage Services for Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, said,
“The huge amount of work needed to develop the new community learning opportunities and to re-evaluate our substantial collection of heritage objects is vital to deliver a more accessible, invigorating and flexible service. We are currently talking to regular visitors to ensure that the new opening times best suit our customers. We also welcome feedback from the public who can contact Philip Butler on 01942 827594.”
“We envisage that the alteration of the opening times will not have a substantial effect on the service we provide and we hope that our customers will see the benefits it will bring to our services. The interpretation of heritage is evolving nationwide and we believe by taking these bold steps now we can deliver a quality service that will engage and excite local people.”
It is envisaged that any new opening hours at the History Shop, Leigh Local History and Leigh Archives will be implemented from Monday 12th February onwards. For further information on how the 21 hours will be provided (or which days Leigh will be taking bookings) please ring the History Shop on 01942 828128.
In summarising the aims of the vision, Carole Tyldesley pointed out,
“Heritage means something different to everyone in the community. We want people to believe that heritage is about more than just about our buildings; it is reflective of our society and the local culture that underpins our sense of pride in where we live and where we are from. Heritage learning should definitely be a shared experience - we want to help families to share their experiences together. We believe this vision will help shift perceptions about heritage and will take history and learning to the heart of the community.”
For further information about the new vision for Wigan Borough’s Heritage Services please contact Michael Walker on 01942 827663.
Notes To Editors
For further information on this Press Release please contact Chris Dunbar, Media and Public Relations Manager, on 01942 486937.
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is a charitable trust working on behalf of Wigan Council to manage and support leisure and cultural facilities, initiatives and events for over 300,000 residents in the Wigan Borough.
Getting Wigan Active
Getting Wigan Active is Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s vision to help people across the Wigan Borough to become more physically, mentally and creatively active . It also aims to increase community activity and to encourage good citizenship.
