Your Heritage in Focus is a project which supports North Lanarkshire’s communities to protect, preserve and promote the heritage of the area's people and places.

Community groups and individuals can build capacity, develop a heritage plan and develop their own projects and funding bids. The project is made possible through the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with our Active and Creative Communities team.

What was done 

During the summer of 2025, the Shotts history group comprising Bill, Bob, Marion, and Jean collaborated with our Heritage Outreach Officer at the Station hotel to document and map the hidden heritage of Shotts and its surrounding district. A large map of North Lanarkshire was amended with additions relevant to the community including:

• interesting places
• local tales of folklore
• contemporary descriptions of the town

We highlighted Shotts rich heritage and modern successes, including its slogan 'Shotts Lights the World': a tribute to its historic gas lamp standards exported globally. Known as a village built on coal and iron, Shotts boasts landmarks such as the:

• former Calderhead school - now home to the Henderson theatre
• historic Shotts Ironworks

Today notable sites include the category A listed former Cummins Engine Company building alongside thriving businesses like Bells Food Group.

Outcome

We had a positive experience creating the heritage maps and now aim to build on this work by developing a dedicated mining landscapes map.

Mining Landscapes is an online platform created by the University of Stirling to celebrate our mining heritage through the medium of landscape. These online tours explore the rich but often hidden local landscape legacies of coal mining through walking routes created by local communities commemorating their industrial history and heritage and celebrating their sense of place and identity.

We plan to regularly meet the Shotts history group and the Community Partnership Team to develop proposals for Foundation Scotland's initiative to revitalise Shotts town centre.

Heritage plays a significant role in enhancing mental health and wellbeing and engagement with historic environments can provide a range of benefits including:

• Strengthening social connections: heritage activities can foster socialisation while providing a sense of purpose which is important for mental health improvement.  
• Providing a sense of belonging: heritage sites offer a sense of belonging and connection to the past which benefits individuals with mental health challenges especially.
• Reducing anxiety and stress: heritage sites visitation can alleviate stress and anxiety contributing to improved mental health overall. 
• Increasing happiness: regular visits to these sites can increase. happiness scores and indicate positive impact on mental wellbeing.
• Promoting relaxation: restorative environments such as historic places can facilitate recovery from stress and fatigue and promote relaxation while improving mental health.

Heritage sites provide safe environments for expressing complex emotions and can remove barriers to public participation and address wellbeing inequalities. They can also be used to create inclusive projects for people with diverse backgrounds and interests.