No Heritage Open Days this year

This year’s borough wide Heritage Open Days has been cancelled to help limit the possible spread of Coronavirus.

The decision to sadly cancel this year’s event was taken by the Heritage Open Days committee, a partnership between Chester Civic Trust and Cheshire West and Chester Council. 

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “This would have been the 26th year of running the ever-popular event. It is a national celebration of our heritage and relies on a small army of volunteers and property owners letting us all have a look into properties not normally open to the public, free of charge. 

“With the virus still with us, it is unwise to run an event like this encouraging large numbers of people into buildings that aren’t prepared for social distancing and the extra sanitising measures and risk assessments necessary for each specific building and event. The event will return next year.”

Heritage Open Days is usually held in September and is a tradition shared across Europe opening and sharing buildings and areas normally closed or with limited access to the public.  There are some digital events being organised across the UK and more information on these can be found at: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/