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Places: Funding for Activities that Repair, Conserve and Care for Heritage
Grants for projects that repair, conserve and care for historic places including buildings, structures, monuments, landscapes and areas.
What kinds of buildings and assets can be considered for a Historic England grant?
We can consider grant applications for projects that involve certain types of historic assets.
To be considered, your project must involve one of the following:
- A building or asset listed at Grade I or II*
- A scheduled monument
- A park or garden registered at Grade I or II*
- Grade II buildings, Grade II parks and gardens and other buildings or assets of significant historic or architectural interest, within a conservation area
- Groups of buildings/assets and public realm within a conservation area (for local authority applicants only)
- In exceptional circumstances, Grade II buildings of high community value outside a conservation area will be considered, where the scheme aligns closely with our Corporate Plan, including our regional areas of focus
- Undesignated heritage assets may be eligible if they are in a conservation area or they are of demonstrably equivalent significance to designated assets
Eligible assets owned by public bodies (such as local authorities, universities, NHS institutions, free schools, academies) can be considered for funding provided they are not part of the organisation’s operational estate.
To see the official record of all listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered parks and gardens, visit the National Heritage List for England.
Your local authority’s planning department will be able to advise you whether or not your asset is in a conservation area.
My project relates to a place of worship, private dwelling or commercial building. Will I be able to apply?
Private dwellings, places of worship and commercial buildings are only exceptionally considered.
In all cases, they would need to have high heritage and community value to be considered. Examples of this could be a building that brings real value to the local community now in terms of what it means or how it is used, or a building that has a particularly strong connection to past people and events.
For more information about how significance is assessed, see Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance.
For places of worship, we would also only consider applications if lottery funding were not an option because of the congregation’s moral objection and/or the funding is needed for emergency capital works to stabilise the building.
If you are not sure if your activity is eligible, please:
- Contact your local office for advice, or
- Submit an expression of interest (EOI) to find out.
What types of activities does Historic England fund?
We fund the following types of activities:
Capital works, including repair and preservation work for eligible assets. Costs covered may include professional fees, non-recoverable VAT, and insurance.
Minor repairs
Minor repairs will be considered if they:
- Are part of a larger repair project that supports long-term resilience and usability of the building or asset
- Are cost-effective when done alongside a larger repair project
- Occur in the same location/building
Improvements and alterations
These activities will be considered if they are part of a larger repair project that increases the future resilience and useability of the asset and use a whole building approach as outlined in the Historic England published technical advice.
This may include research, investigations, testing, and monitoring (such as energy audits), as well as condition surveys, management plans, reuse studies, feasibility assessments, material procurement, case studies, and accessibility audits.
Funding for the responsible upkeep and management of scheduled monuments. More about grants for managing monuments
Funding for developing and delivering standalone maintenance programmes for groups of designated assets or Conservation Areas. This may include project design, engaging contractors and training volunteers.
Includes securing empty buildings through urgent repairs, temporary protective and security measures, fire prevention, and environmental upkeep (such as, controlling vegetation and wildlife). Light-touch modifications for short-term adaptive reuse may also be considered.
Modifications where they are an essential part of a larger Historic England-funded current project that help eligible assets to remain or become functional again, including adaptations for reuse and/or accessibility.
In cases where preserving a designated asset is not feasible (due to cost, impracticality) funding may be available for recording the site and making it safe. Marine sites are not included.
Underwriting the cost of serving urgent works notices and subsequent work carried out by the local authority, and underwriting the cost of serving repairs notices. See more about grants for statutory action
Funding to help local authorities or new owners acquire historic properties at risk, either as part of enforcement actions or to secure their long-term preservation.
Interpretation (such as information panels) as part of capital works projects.
Are there any places activities that Historic England does not fund?
Yes, we do not fund the following activities:
- New build projects, even within a historic environment
- Routine maintenance and minor repairs, such as inspections and preventive maintenance (such as clearing gutters)
- Museum exhibits, artefacts, chattels or mobile assets like steam engines and boats
- Work resulting from an insurable event, for example the theft of lead roofing
- Demolition or reconstruction, unless essential to protect historic fabric or required for structural reasons
- Projects involving undesignated sites, unless they are in a conservation area or are of demonstrably equivalent significance to designated assets
- Activities already funded through Historic England’s External Technical Advice budget
- Alterations or improvements that:
- Are inappropriate to the significance of the building
- Do not improve the asset’s long-term resilience or usability
- Do not follow a whole building approach based on Historic England’s technical guidance
- Work that directly contradicts Historic England’s published technical guidance or specialist advice
- Any work started before a written grant offer is made and formally accepted
There are also other types of expenditure that we do not provide grants for. Learn more about Ineligible Expenditure
I meet all the eligibility criteria and additional criteria for the activity that I need funding for. Does that mean I will be successful and awarded a grant?
No, unfortunately we are unable to fund everyone who meets our criteria. We have a set amount of funding available each year and assess each application against how well it meets our grant priorities and Historic England’s wider corporate plan. Applying for a grant is a competitive process. If you are invited to apply, we’ll provide guidance on how to strengthen your application.
Not all projects neatly fit into a category. So, if you are not completely sure if your project is a fit, please:
- Contact your local office for advice, or
- Complete an EOI form and we'll let you know.
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