£820,000 fund for the historic environment opens
An £820,000 fund aimed at conserving historic environment assets and increasing knowledge and public awareness is now open.
Applications are invited from owners and from community and heritage organisations for a range of support streams organised together as the Historic Environment Fund.
£600,000 is available to fund repairs to listed buildings and scheduled historic monuments.
Most listed buildings will be eligible for up to 20% of costs up to a cap of £50,000 with extra support for the repair of scheduled monuments, thatched roofs and the retention and repair of historic windows.
This year support has been extended for the first time to listed buildings with no economic purpose, for example, follies.
It will also support owners to take action to halt the decline of buildings at risk and will provide financial help for district councils to tackle heritage at risk that they own.
Launching the fund, Department for Communities (DfC) Director of Historic Environment, Iain Greenway said, “Our aim in developing the Fund was to support and encourage a wide range of activity so that our full community can truly enjoy and realise the immense value that our historic environment brings.
“From cathedrals to cottages we have a fantastic resource here that contributes to community wellbeing and sense of place as well as directly to our economy through tourism and investment.
“Over the last three years, we have funded 90 projects, including repairs to 63 buildings and monuments, and have supported many people and communities enthusiastic about the heritage of their place to take action to conserve it and make it better.
“I would encourage everyone to look at this programme and to consider if there is an opportunity here for them. Once lost our heritage is gone forever and it is important that we work together to ensure that we make the most of what we have and that we hand it on to the future in the best condition we possibly can,” he added.
The remaining £220,000 of the Fund has been allocated to support: schools to visit Monuments in State Care; communities to add to the knowledge and conservation of their local heritage; district councils to promote maintenance; and owners to remove vegetation and improve access to scheduled monuments.
It will also support strategic projects to conserve churches; conserve heritage at risk; engage community action on regeneration projects; support a pilot project around council heritage officers; and support the development of heritage skills.
This year the Fund is also being opened to applications from those who wish to undertake research into Northern Ireland’s historic environment and the issues it faces. The support available for research work will be limited to awards of £5,000 and £10,000.
To maximise time to carry out work in the 2019/20 financial year, the Fund will be open to most applications for one month closing on 10 June. Applications for research work and school visits to State Care Monuments will close later on 10 August and 10 September respectively.
All applications will be marked against criteria and those scoring highest will be supported, subject to their compliance with the scheme.
Further information on how to apply is available at https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-environment-financial-support
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