This funding opportunity is shared through our Funding Information North East (FINE) spotlight. To receive fortnightly funding opportunities straight to your inbox, sign up for Membership+ and get our FINE Bulletin.
Do you need funding and support to bring a historic building back into use? The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) has £46million of funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to deliver the Heritage Revival Fund grants programme. Over the next four years, these grants can support communities across England to restore and re-use historic buildings, transforming them into vibrant spaces.
The AHF can offer grant funding at viability, development and capital stages for projects that will provide a variety of uses for disused and underused historic buildings, ranging from arts centres to food halls to affordable housing. Along with advice and support, we provide this funding to not-for-profit groups and organisations looking to take ownership of or repurpose historic buildings in their communities. Priority for this funding will be given to historic buildings in towns centres where projects are delivering social and economic impact in disadvantaged areas (using data from the English Indices of Deprivation and the Community Needs Index).
- Project Viability Grants can fund up to £20,000 of costs towards early-stage work to test plans and options for your building.
- Project Development Grants of up to £100,000 can support organisations to develop project plans further and ensure they are ready to progress with capital works.
- Capital grant funds of up to £500,000 can support you in delivering the capital phase of your project, with funds available for the conservation and repair, alteration and refurbishment costs, and the associated project management costs required to bring your building back into use.
This additional funding builds on an initial year of the Heritage Revival Fund programme. Projects supported include the Friends of Stockton and Darlington Railway to help develop plans for the Grade II* listed Locomotion No 1 Public House. This former pub is considered the world’s oldest railway station building and the Friends plan to bring the building back into use as a community café/pub space and a venue for events and visitor activities.
Through this funding we also supported the Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery in Alnwick with capital funds for their relocation to the Grade I listed Northumberland Hall, helping with urgent repairs, as well as a package of alterations and refurbishment. We had previously supported the Museum though viability and development stages in preparation for this move and the necessary capital works.
For all our funding streams we ask applicants to submit an initial Expression of Interest, which is accessible via our website: Fund | The Architectural Heritage Fund.