With its bright lights and 158 metres of steel and cast iron dominating the landscape, Blackpool has a habit of dominating the Fylde Coast’s cultural narrative and much of Blackpool Social Club’s attention. But there’s a quieter cultural conversation unfolding just up the road in Wyre.
Wyre Council has published its draft Heritage and Culture Strategy, and with it an invitation for residents, artists, organisations and audiences to shape how culture is understood, supported and sustained across the borough.
The draft Cultural Strategy for Wyre is available to read on the council’s website now and attempts to map the borough’s cultural landscape across its town and villages. That includes not only venues and institutions, but landscapes, traditions and everyday creative practice. From the archival work of Fleetwood Museum to the environmental and participatory potential of Wyre Estuary Country Park, the document frames local culture as something embedded in place rather than layered on top of it.
The strategy identifies familiar pressures facing the sector – fragmented funding, limited visibility and the challenge of connecting grassroots activity with wider infrastructure. But it also points to opportunity, particularly in collaboration. One of its central ambitions is to better link organisations, freelancers and communities, enabling shared resources, stronger networks and, crucially, a more compelling case for investment.
There is also an emphasis on culture as public good. The strategy foregrounds wellbeing, access and participation, aligning with a broader shift in how cultural value is articulated – not just in economic terms, but in social ones too.
Identity is key and the question is not whether culture exists but how it’s recognised, supported and connected. The strategy reads as an attempt to join those dots.
More than 200 survey responses and 30 in-depth interviews have already informed the draft. Now Wyre Council is asking for final feedback before the strategy is adopted.
The consultation is open now and the survey, alongside the full draft of the strategy, can be found via Wyre Council’s website.
