HERITAGE PLACES
Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough has been chosen by The National Lottery Heritage Fund for inclusion in an exciting new Strategic Initiative entitled, Heritage Places.
Heritage Places is a national scheme across the UK where the National Lottery Heritage Fund is proudly supporting these selected places for the next 10 years. So far, 15 Places across the UK have been chosen. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough was the first location in Northern Ireland to be chosen.
Heritage Places represents a 10-year commitment to support the protection, enhancement and celebration of heritage as well as exploring the key linkage between heritage and place shaping/placemaking.
This forms a key tenet of the Heritage Fund’s new 10 year strategy, Heritage 2033. The key principles in this strategy are:
- Saving heritage: conserving and valuing heritage, for now and the future.
- Protecting the environment: supporting nature recovery and environmental sustainability.
- Inclusion, access, and participation: supporting greater inclusion, diversity, access, and participation in heritage.
- Organisational sustainability: strengthening heritage to be adaptive and financially resilient, contributing to communities and economies.
WHAT IS HERITAGE?
Heritage is often seen as a complex term which can describe our collective past and history. The Heritage Places team is trying to break down the barriers of Heritage to create a more inclusive, accessible and approachable definition of Heritage.
As part of our schools’ programme, we looked at what Heritage can mean and begin to make Heritage more accessible and fun for all ages.
Heritage can be:
BUILT:
The ABC Borough have many historic and listed buildings, state monuments, and other assets. We have five Conservation Areas, and sixteen Areas of Townscape Character.
These areas are designated as protected as they have buildings of architectural and historic merit – they form our city, townscapes and villages.
Great work has done with the help of The National Heritage Lottery Fund with various schemes, in Richhill, Armagh Townscape Heritage, and Lurgan Townscape Heritage however this is just the start, there are still a considerable amount of important heritage in disrepair and considered at risk.
We have collections of local and national importance held within our museums, and libraries, with key archaeological artefacts and findings with great importance at Navan Fort. The love for archaeology can be seen in other parts of borough at a more recent dig at Kilmocholmóg in Lurgan. We currently have two Irish Tentative List UNESCO World Heritage bids in progress, and we are working towards the regeneration of Armagh Gaol.
CULTURAL:
The ABC Borough boasts a vast array of intangible heritage, the things we cannot touch or see; a list that is not exhaustive. They all uniquely contribute to our heritage. This cultural heritage is the array of storytelling, literature, arts and crafts, plays, music, songs, customs, sports, fashions, and ceremonies of this place and most importantly the people.
ABC Culture celebrates the artistic and cultural fabric of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough.
NATURAL:
Within the Borough is an extensive range of parks, forests, trails, and waterways. We are home to Lough Neagh which is a notable RAMSAR site and an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), we acknowledge the current challenges it faces regarding blue-green algae and the need to rescue and conserve our natural heritage.
There are a great number of other ASSI sites across our Borough that have a significant range of habitats and species. These landscapes, plants, insects and animals need to be protected and preserved for future generations to enjoy.
10 YEAR HERITAGE STRATEGY
Your heritage, your voice—help shape the future.
Public consultation is now closed on borough’s Draft Heritage Strategy
Following a successful engagement period, where you have shared their views through surveys and drop-in sessions, a Draft Heritage Strategy has been developed to reflect what heritage means to the people of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon.
We invited all residents, community groups, stakeholders and interested individuals to share their feedback on the strategy, to hear what works well, what could be improved, and what might be missing. This input will help identify key heritage priorities and guide the delivery of the Heritage Places initiative between now and 2033.
Read our draft Heritage Strategy below. The Heritage Strategy will be launched Late Spring 2026.
Over £200k Lottery Funding Gets New ABC Heritage Places Project Underway
At our starting point for Heritage Places, we secured an initial award of £238,798 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop a 10 year Heritage Strategy.
The proposed 10 Year Heritage Strategy will enable us to develop a fully costed and prioritised plan for investment and enable a sustainable future for our heritage. This will ensure that our diverse heritage and character is protected and enhanced for the enjoyment of both current and future generations.
We believe that heritage has the ability to create connections between people and communities, improve places and create a Borough of choice for investors, visitors and local residents. As part of our approach to Heritage Places, we are encouraging everyone from across the Borough to contribute to shaping the future of heritage.
“Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future GENERATIONS”
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Heritage 2033, Our 10 Year Strategy
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
To help shape the Borough’s Heritage Strategy, we are asking everyone to get involved in the Heritage Places’ engagement. We are currently looking to hear your voice tell us what Heritage means to you.
Why not share your view below to help shape how Heritage will look like in the Borough.
- What does ‘Heritage’ mean to you?
- What would you like to pass on to the next generation?
- Is there a Heritage related project or idea you would like Heritage Places be involved with
- Would you like to stay in touch with Heritage Places?
Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council is committed to processing information in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The personal data collected on this form will be held securely and will only be used for Heritage Places Project purposes.
If you have any questions on how we store your data, please email: heritageplaces@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk
