Eve Deasy from Glossop Creates explores the role of creative placemaking in the growing popularity of our town
According to a recent study, Glossop has seen an unexpected rise in popularity from 2019-2022. During that time, Glossop’s high street footfall has been amplified by 33% - which is incredible!
Glossop Creates - which was established in 2020 after rigorous consultation with the town’s creative and independent business community - is an ongoing campaign to ensure that the creative and cultural aspects of the town play a key role in its success.
Placemaking can include the enhancement of diverse spaces and places through the facilitation of ideas generated by the local community. Glossop Creates helps to mobilise and inspire the creativity within the town to bring these concepts to life and create cultural experiences by bringing people together and supporting a wider collective vision.
Since our inception, we have instigated regular network meetings for the creative, food and drink and music communities within the town to ensure ideas are shared, people are connected and conversation sparks collaborations. We have also created and produced campaigns such as Love Glossop, Support Local, the Winter Art Trail and the Local Winter Story Trail to bring the town together through creativity, arts and culture, and put the town on the map for creativity and cultural experiences that make residents proud.
Glossop is now recognised as a prime creative cluster in Derbyshire (Source: Glossop Creative Industries Assessment 2019 and NESTA) and we aim to enhance this attribute and demonstrate the value of art and creativity to help regenerate Glossopdale. We have also worked with artists and other creatives to develop curated walks to explore the town’s heritage and culture through a creative lens.
The increase by a third in high street footfall (Source PlaceMake IO) can be attributed to various factors; post-pandemic moves to more rural areas, the reduction of city centre working and the birth of a number of fantastic independent businesses and venues that have enhanced the town and bolstered its cultural DNA. But the town’s creative and indie business communities should absolutely be celebrating this success, as their campaigns, collaborations, ventures and projects have certainly added to Glossop’s newfound popularity and reimagined image.
Glossop - and its surrounding villages such as Hadfield, where I live - is perfectly placed between the wilds of the Dark Peak and the cultural and artistic melting pot that is Manchester. Bringing our creative thinkers together to share ideas and requirements has undoubtedly played a part in this new chapter - and the subsequent local, regional and even national media coverage on projects such as the Local Winter Story Trail that celebrated Dame Hilary Mantel, and Deggy’s much-adored mural of local creative hero, Dame Vivienne Westwood, has helped to position the town as one that celebrates heritage while keeping a firm eye on the future. Since launching, we have seen our projects and wider creative campaigns gain traction in the Manchester Evening News, Derbyshire Live, The Manc and even the Guardian, which shared our website in its positive piece on our market town and its attributes.
As a mum of two, a freelance PR and content writer and a lifelong resident of Hadfield and Glossop, I can’t wait to see what the next few years will bring for Glossop. I’d love to see more co-working spaces to encourage collaboration, more ways to connect nature and creativity, more public spaces for art, drama and dance and even more opportunities for our wonderful creative communities to work together for the greater good of the town. I’m particularly looking ahead to the regeneration of our market building and town hall - an incredible space that has such potential - and it’s exciting to be part of the conversation that can help these initiatives be realised and ensure our creative community continues to have a voice.
As always, if you have any ideas, projects to share, news to announce or are working on any campaigns that need shouting about, please do get in touch with us at hello@glossopcreates.com or via our social channels. You can also come along to our next network meeting to make sure your ideas and opinions are heard.
