Inventory of living heritage seeks public's input

COMMUNITIES are being invited to nominate traditions from ceilidhs and cheese-rolling to the Notting Hill Carnival for a UK register of "living heritage".

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The UK-wide inventory will encompass practices handed down through generations, including crafts such as tartan weaving or dry stone walling, events such as Pancake Day or Burn's Night suppers, and traditions brought to the UK by immigrant communities such as steeldrumming.

The move to draw up an inventory recognising the UK's living heritage is part of efforts to safeguard the crafts, customs and celebrations that form the country's culture and identity, the Government said.

They can also be economically important, with research from Historic England showing that the heritage sector contributed more than £15bn to the economy in 2022.

Crafts alone contribute as much as £400m a year, figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) show, while events can be major economic draws for individual places, such as Lewes, in East Sussex, whose bonfire celebrations attract 40,000 visitors to the town each year.