Ensuring that key records created during these projects are preserved with the local authority archive service will extend the legacy of your project. These records include what is created by the people delivering the project, and by those who participate in it. An archive of your large cultural infrastructure project means that future generations can understand what happened, who was involved, and its impact.
The archive of any large cultural infrastructure project will evidence the work of creative professionals, community groups, the third sector, business and local government in centring culture and using it as a way of bringing people together. By working with archivists trained to look after and help people access digital and analogue archives, you will be helping to build future heritage, and evidencing the positive changes you and your colleagues have driven forward. It is also an opportunity to improve the capacity of your archive service, helping to ensure it is equipped to care for and make accessible records from your council and from local communities and individuals.
This guidance has been able to draw upon the experiences and reflections from archivists, producers, individuals from creative teams and senior managers with responsibility for heritage and culture. This includes colleagues from London Boroughs of Culture (Waltham Forest (2019), Brent (2020), Lewisham (2022) and Croydon (2023)), Cities of Culture (Hull (2017), Coventry (2021) and Bradford (2025), alongside Leeds’ Year of Culture 2023 and colleagues from Knowsley and St Helen’s – two of the five Liverpool City Region Boroughs.