The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) will be employing four more Support Officers, extend its advice service and launch a new grants scheme following the announcement of £3 million of new funding under the newly published Culture White Paper.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) writes:
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) welcomes the announcement in the Culture White Paper of over £3 million of new funding for its grant programmes and advice services. This investment will allow the AHF to support many more communities across the country as they seek to take ownership and find enterprising new uses for much loved historic buildings.
For nearly 40 years the AHF has helped communities repair and reuse this country’s unique and irreplaceable architectural heritage. In the last 11 years alone, £3 million of AHF grants has levered in over £308 million of additional money to rescue 210 listed historic buildings that might otherwise have been lost. Projects such as the recently opened Cromford Creative and Gateway Centre have been successfully delivered, thanks in part to AHF’s early support. Here an AHF project development grant of £25,000 helped the Arkwright Society draw up designs and prepare capital funding bids to repair and convert the Grade I listed cotton mill, one of the earliest factory buildings in the world, into a creative business hub and visitor centre for the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The £6.7 million scheme will provide new jobs and attract new visitors to Cromford.
Ian Morrison, AHF’s Chief Executive commented: ‘This is fantastic news for the AHF and for the communities we work closely with. The Government’s generous investment comes just at the right time as the demand for our advice and grants is at a record high. The vast majority of this funding will be directly passed on to communities in the form of early project grants to help them develop their plans for the rescue and reuse of historic buildings. Together we will be able to save far more of our architectural heritage for public benefit’.
The additional funding will also allow the AHF to employ four more Support Officers with experience in project management, business planning, property, fundraising and marketing. AHF’s Chairman, Liz Peace CBE added: ‘Expanding the range of advice we can provide, especially in areas of commercial enterprise, is particularly important at a time when communities increasingly aspire to take ownership of the historic buildings they value. This is very welcome news indeed.’
The AHF will announce details of its new grant programmes and advice services later this Spring.
View the news release
