Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England, faces a particular set of circumstances which are representative of those faced by many post-industrial settlements in current times. This paper traverses the socio-economic, political and cultural background to these circumstances: to broadly understand the interrelationship between urban design, the regional cultural offer and civic society through the lens of ‘cultural economics’. At a time when much of Europe is still feeling the effects of the global recession; and when the north of England has been particularly devastated by cuts to public sector funding, it explores heritage, culture and history in relation to place-making and place ‘branding’. It asks how a cultural offer within a locale might be understood in terms of economic infrastructure, and how culture as a social and economic resource might be strengthened by the support of local government and the community through ‘creative consultation’
