After the Christmas break, January is usually the month we start afresh with new activities or get back into old ones with renewed energy and enthusiasm, gym membership statistics highlight this every year! Well, the Local Heritage List is no exception! Since the beginning of January we have been going full steam ahead with the assessment process so our first trial candidates can be presented to the relevant local councils.

Our Blog this month is written by Marina Tenzer, a PhD researcher at the University of York. Her work has similarities and links with the Local Heritage List and gives you the opportunity to help out with her research.

What is your favourite place? Where do you feel a special connection or just enjoy being there? Why do you feel happy, safe, or at home in some places and not in others? All of these questions are subject of academic research in a field, where government agencies and heritage professionals work together with people from all walks of life for the public benefit. Similar to the creation of the local list, my research at the University of York aims to find out which places matter most to people and why, and what role heritage plays in this. As a resident of Sheffield, I have chosen Sheffield and the Peak District National Park as my study areas to explore the connections people have to the natural and cultural, rural and urban, tangible and intangible aspects of their everyday landscapes.