16 CONTEXT 183 : MARCH 2025 LINDA MONCKTON and DESI GRADINAROVA Wellbeing and heritage: making a difference Historic England and others have been investigating how work with the historic environment and place can help promote wellbeing and address wellbeing inequalities. When Historic England published its first threeyear Wellbeing and Heritage Strategy in 2022, it was a landmark moment in ensuring that individual and community wellbeing was a lens through which we could see our work. It also provided the catalyst for us to work directly with the heritage sector to explore what was going on, what worked and what else was needed to expand this area of work. Historic England has been investigating how work with the historic environment and place can help promote wellbeing and address wellbeing inequalities. This has provided new evidence (see page 20) and shown how we need wellbeing to be an essential part of relevant project outcomes and a part of a larger strategic issue within the cultural sector as a whole. This is not about revolution but about reframing the context in which we are operating, and the differences we can make in places and for communities. This is not a new thing to say. It was 20 years ago that the then secretary of state for culture, media and sport wrote: ‘we need a new language to describe the importance of the historic environment… [we need to] increase diversity in both audiences and the workforce, to capture and present evidence of the value of heritage, to contribute to the national debate on identity and Britishness, to create public engagement and to widen the sense of ownership of the historic and built environment’ (Tessa Jowell, 2005). Five years after this statement the Office of National Statistics (ONS) began measuring national wellbeing. The year 2015 saw the creation of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, and in 2018 the Wellbeing Economy Government partnerships group was launched with Scotland. The new language emerged as one about wellbeing, as it has become more prevalent and relevant within policy and funding contexts. At the same time, the pressures on the NHS and primary care especially have meant a rethinking in the health sector about what a good response for a struggling individual looks like. Currently almost 20 per cent of GP consultation time is spent on non-clinical issues, Participants in the Restoration Trust’s Heritage Link Worker project at Arminghall Henge, Norfolk (Photo: The Restoration Trust)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=