Deadline: 31-Oct-24
Applications are now open for the Architectural Heritage Fund.
The AHF helps communities across the UK find enterprising new ways to revitalise old buildings. They do this by providing advice, grants, and social investment loans.
The aims are:
- delivering targeted investment that leads to the sustainable reuse and management of historic buildings.
- supporting charities and social enterprises to take ownership of, develop and sustain new uses for historic buildings.
- championing the impact of heritage and community-led regeneration.
Types of Funding
- Project Viability Grants
- Grant size: Up to £15,000
- Length: Up to one year
- They are currently offering grants to support early-stage feasibility work on historic building projects.
- These grants should help you to establish whether a project is viable. Work will probably focus on understanding the condition of the building, how it might be used, and whether that intended use is appropriate for the building and likely to be sustainable.
- Project Development Grants
- Grant size: Up to £20,000
- Length: Up to one year
- They are currently offering grants to support development work on historic building projects.
- Project Development Grants can cover some of the costs of developing and co-ordinating your project and taking it towards the start of work on site.
- To qualify, an organisation must have established that the end use of the project is likely to be viable and have decided to take the project forward.
Eligible Projects
- They want to support the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings for the benefit of communities, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas.
- In general, your project will be eligible if all of the following apply:
- your project involves an historic building, which they define as:
- nationally listed – Grade I, II, II
- locally listed
- unlisted but in a Conservation Area and/or
- highly valued by the local community for its demonstrable historic interest;
- your project is being led by a not-for-private-profit organisation
- your project involves the building changing its use and/or a change of ownership
- your organisation already has or seeks to acquire the freehold or a long lease (usually for a minimum of 25 years) on the building
- your project involves an historic building, which they define as:
Ineligible Projects
- Things they cannot normally fund:
- work that has started before a decision to award a grant
- on site capital works
- repair costs that are not part of a larger scheme to find a new sustainable use
- ongoing maintenance costs
Eligibility Criteria
- Your organisation must be one of the following not-for-private-profit organisations or lowest tiers of local government:
- Unincorporated charities (for Project Viability Grants only)
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations(CIOs)
- Charitable Companies Limited by Guarantee
- Community Benefit Societies
- Not-for-private-profit Companies Limited by Guarantee
- Community Interest Companies (CICs) Limited by Guarantee
- Co-operatives
- Parish and Town Councils
Ineligible
- Private individuals
- Local authorities and other public sector bodies other than Parish and Town Councils (unless applying on behalf of an organisation still in formation)
- Universities, colleges and other mainstream educational institutions including independent schools
- For-profit companies, unless in a partnership led by a not-for-profit organisation
- Unincorporated organisations (e.g. charitable trusts and associations) that are not intending to incorporate
- Organisations with fewer than three Trustees or Directors. If there are only three Trustees/Directors, none of these should be spouses or otherwise related to one another.
- Limited liability partnerships
- Churches or other places of worship, where the building or the space within the building will remain in use as an active place of religious worship – defined as hosting regular religious services or religion-based activities such as prayer or religious study. If you are unclear whether your project is eligible on the basis of religious activity taking place within your building, please contact one of the Support Officers.
For more information, visit AHF.
