Two reports have been published that detail the amount of financial support the EU has provided to heritage in England and Scotland between 2007-2016, together identifying more than £486 million.
The report compiled by Euclid for Historic England concluded that heritage focused or related projects received a minimum of £450 million in EU funding in the period from 2007-2016, with Euclid commenting that many factors point to this figure being an under-estimate.
Another report by Euclid on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland estimates that at least £36.8 million has been awarded to over 280 historic environment projects in Scotland over the last decade.
These two figures combined means that a conservative estimate of heritage funding awarded to England and Scotland by the EU over the last ten years is almost £490 million. This is, of course, without taking into account the added financial gain to heritage through EU tourism, free trade and freedom of movement of labour.
Among the funding received is:
- The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) which included £46.23 million for Historical & archaeological feature protection £31.28 million for the Restoration of historic buildings.
- As well as £23.85 million for Scotland from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
- These reports highlight the immensely valuable financial contribution to heritage that the EU makes within Britain.
DOWNLOAD the Historic England report and DOWNLOAD the Historic Environment Scotland report.
