Transforming Places Through Heritage
Voluntary organisations in England can apply for grants via the Architectural Heritage Fund to help rejuvenate city and town centres.
Charities and social enterprises can apply for five different grants as part of the Transforming Places Through Heritage project to help regenerate high streets by creating alternative uses for redundant or underused historic buildings.
This programme supports projects that will contribute to the transformation of high streets and town centres in England helping them become thriving places, strengthening local communities and encouraging local economies to prosper. It is part of a wider initiative to revive heritage high streets in England, alongside Historic England’s High Streets Heritage Action Zones. Together, these programmes form part of the Future High Streets Fund, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The programme is for individual heritage buildings in, or transferring to, community ownership. It will support charities and social enterprises to develop projects with the potential to bring new life to high streets by creating alternative uses for redundant or underused historic buildings in town centres.
What types of funding are available and when can I apply?
The AHF can provide grants to help with assessing the viability of a project, or to help fund development costs or to match funds raised through Crowdfunding and Community Shares. They will also provide a small number of capital (delivery) grants for Transformational Projects.
- Project Viability Grants: up to £15,000, for early viability and feasibility work, open now for applications.
- Project Development Grants: up to £100,000, for capital project development costs, open now for applications.
- Crowdfunding Challenge Grants: up to £25,000, to match fund crowdfunding campaigns, open now for applications.
- Transformational Project Grants: up to £350,000, for transformational capital projects, open for first round project enquiries from 29th July 2019 (with a second round to be announced in 2020).
- Community Shares Booster Grants: further info to be announced.
Which areas will be eligible?
The programme will focus on places where strategic regeneration programmes are planned or are already underway. This includes Heritage Action Zones or places that have secured funding through the Future High Streets Fund. Historic building projects located within other area-based regeneration programmes, such as Townscape Heritage areas or where an applicant can demonstrate a significant community-led strategic approach is in place, will also be considered. Projects should not be standalone but sit within a wider initiative to regenerate and bring a new purpose to the immediate surrounding area.
Please note that the grants cannot be used to fund the same work that is being grant-aided through a Future High Streets Fund or High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme. These strands of funding cannot partner each other, but will fund projects that are complementary. These strands of funding may separately fund different stages of one project.
