Crewe Town Council is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced interpretation consultant to develop and deliver a Hidden Narratives interpretation project within Crewe Town Centre.
The commission aims to uncover and share lesser-known stories about Crewe, complementing the town’s established railway heritage narrative with stories of people, places, communities and industries that have shaped the town’s development. The project will reintroduce lost buildings, hidden landscapes and forgotten stories to the modern townscape through a combination of physical and digital interpretation.
The successful contractor will be responsible for the end-to-end delivery of the project and will provide:
- Overall project management and delivery of the commission from inception to completion, including programme management, stakeholder liaison and reporting.
- Review of existing research materials and development of an interpretation framework identifying key themes, stories, audiences and locations.
- Development and delivery of a community engagement approach designed to capture additional stories, memories and perspectives from local people.
- Identification of suitable interpretation locations and management of all activities required to secure permissions, consents and approvals for installation, including liaison with landowners, statutory bodies, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders.
- Research, writing and editing of all interpretation and digital content, ensuring content is accessible, engaging and suitable for a broad public audience.
- Sourcing, licensing and management of all images, illustrations, maps, archive material and other graphic content required for the project.
- Design and artwork production for interpretation panels, incorporating accessibility principles and QR-code integration.
- Development of QR-code linked digital interpretation, including enhanced content, storytelling resources and opportunities for community contributions.
- Manufacture, production and installation of all interpretation panels and associated infrastructure required to deliver the project, ensuring compliance with any permissions, consents, approvals or conditions stipulated by landowners, statutory bodies, local authorities or other relevant stakeholders.
- Provision of all final artwork files, digital assets, image licences, permissions, maintenance information and project documentation upon completion.
The fee for this contract is £18,000 inclusive of all costs. For the full brief and information on how to apply please read the full brief and a clarification document.
Document
Document
2026-10-05-hidden-narrative-interpretation-delivery-clarifications.docx
and supporting documents
Document
Document
appendix-b-services-contract.docx
Document
appendix-c-crewe-factsheet.docx
Appendix D will be provided to the successful contractor following appointment. The document contains information that is not being made publicly available as part of the procurement process.
Applications should be sent to heritage@crewetowncouncil.gov.uk by 12pm (midday) Tuesday 20 October 2026.
