Historic England has awarded funding to the Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England (IHSO) project to commission a new survey of the circa 600 industrial heritage sites in England that are open to the public. Applications are now open for consultants to apply to carry out the survey.
There are around 600 nationally designated industrial heritage sites open to the public in England. They are major educational, leisure and tourism assets, and an important part of the story of England’s pioneering role in industrialisation. Many of these sites are amongst the most visible, and visited, heritage monuments.
This new funding from Historic England will be used to gather reliable data about the sites by carrying out a formal survey. The survey will provide accurate and up-to-date information on the total number of sites, current maintenance, economic funding model, public engagement and visitor numbers.
The findings of the research will be summarised in a report and will highlight key areas for future study. This information will then be used to underpin the work of the IHSO project, funded by Historic England and based at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. The findings will also be used to help deliver Historic England’s draft Industrial Heritage Strategy and Corporate Plan.
Dr Mike Nevell, Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England, based at IGMT, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to gather up-to-date information about industrial heritage sites around the country that we can compare to the findings of the most recent report in 2008. Having this data will enable the IHSO project to improve the support it offers industrial heritage sites, through networking, intelligence gathering and capacity building. The data will also be invaluable to Historic England and other partners in the industrial heritage sector.”
Applications are now open for consultants wishing to carry out this survey. To see the full tender document or for other enquiries, please contact Dr Mike Nevell. Project designs must be received by 12pm on 8 March.