TOTNES HERITAGE GROUPS WORKING TOGETHER.

The Totnes Heritage Trust is in the process of arranging with Plymouth University for a group of students to investigate how to create a coordinated approach amongst Totnes heritage groups.

Totnes has 316 listed buildings including Totnes Castle, St Mary’s Church, The Guildhall and The Mansion. The town, including Dartington, has the highest number of listed buildings in the towns and villages of Devon. There are several heritage related organisations within the town and yet there is a lack of coordinated activities and events to highlight the town’s rich heritage to the many tourists who visit the town as well as to its residents. 

The Heritage Trust has arranged with Plymouth University for a group of students to investigate the possibility of creating a coordinated approach involving all those organisations within the town having a heritage connection, leading to a programme of activities that would attract both visitors and residents. 

The investigation would include ascertaining the most favoured means of coordination, organisation, range of events, publicity, and promotion. Just by way of example, Totnes has a very robust Image Bank, containing thousands of photographs extending over a wide time frame.  Whilst the Image Bank currently has its own promotion protocols, the trust believes that with the right amount of coordination and promotion, the Image Bank could attract an even larger audience by selectively displaying its photographs at various heritage events.  This is just one of the many types of synergies that could be had with the right coordinating structure.

This coordination could also extend to involving those town organisations organising and holding events in historic buildings such as St Mary’s Church. Presently such events are independent of each other. An investigation into a combined approach could result in the events attracting a wider audience and raising the profile of the participants. The investigation could include ascertaining the most favoured means of coordination, organisation, range of events, publicity, and promotion. 

The Heritage Trust envisages the students ascertaining the current position by interviewing those involved in the heritage of the town and seeking their views on possible options. The students will be conducting online research and interviews with members of other heritage related organisations.

This project is being led by John Anderson, a trustee of the Totnes Heritage Trust.