National Lottery Heritage Fund
Non-departmental public body overview
Formed1994 (1994)
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
HeadquartersCannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill, London
51°30′28″N 0°04′25″W / 51.5077°N 0.0737°W / 51.5077; -0.0737
Employees300
Minister responsible
Non-departmental public body executives
Parent departmentDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Parent organisationNational Heritage Memorial Fund
Websitewww.heritagefund.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.

History

The fund's predecessor bodies were the National Land Fund, established in 1946, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, established in 1980.[2] The current body was established as the "Heritage Lottery Fund" in 1994.[3] It was re-branded as the National Lottery Heritage Fund in January 2019.[4]

Activities

This sign indicates a Heritage Lottery funded project
A Heritage Grant saw the renovation of Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire

The fund's income comes from the National Lottery, which was managed until 2024 by Camelot Group.[5] Its objectives are "to conserve the UK's diverse heritage, to encourage people to be involved in heritage and to widen access and learning".[6] As of 2019, it had awarded £7.9 billion to 43,000 projects.[4]

In 2006, the National Lottery Heritage Fund launched the Parks for People program with the aim to revitalize historic parks and cemeteries. From 2006 to 2021, the Fund had granted £254 million to 135 projects.[7]

In January 2019 it simplified its funding schemes under one banner – National Lottery Grants for Heritage – with awards from £3,000 to £5 million.[4] Funding requests for projects over £5 million will be considered as part of two time-limited national competitions to be held in 2020–21 and 2022–23.[4]

Its funding routes include the Digital Skills for Heritage Fund, a £3.5m fund for grants to support digital volunteering in the heritage sector, launched in November 2021.[8]

Structure

The chair of the trustees is appointed by the Prime Minister;[1] René Olivieri served as interim chair from January 2020[9] following Sir Peter Luff's retirement at the end of 2019.[10] Dr Simon Thurley CBE, former Chief Executive of English Heritage, became the chair of trustees on 1 April 2021.[11][12]

The Chief Executive from July 2016 to December 2021 was Ros Kerslake OBE, former CEO of The Prince's Regeneration Trust.[13] In August 2021, the Fund announced that Ros Kerslake would be stepping down at the end of 2021.[14] The Chief Executive since January 2022 is Eilish McGuinness.[15]

The Fund's head office is in London, and it has offices elsewhere in the UK.[1]

Major projects

Major projects have included:[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Our people". The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. ^ Tandy, Virginia (1 August 2019). "The Heritage Lottery Fund and its role in the construction and preservation of the past: 1994–2016". University of Manchester. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. ^ Maeer, Gareth (2017). "A people-centred approach to heritage: The experience of the Heritage Lottery Fund 1994–2014". Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage. Heritage Values and the Public, edited by Margarita Díaz-Andreu. Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage. 4: 38–52. doi:10.1080/20518196.2017.1238098. S2CID 158008849.
  4. ^ a b c d "A Guide to the National Lottery Heritage Fund". Jura. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. ^ Hancock, Alice (14 November 2019). "UK National Lottery operator Camelot posts record first-half sales". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Heritage Lottery Fund" (PDF). National Audit Office. 13 March 2007. p. 4. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  7. ^ Parks for People: why should we invest in parks?, Heritagefund.org, 23 June 2021
  8. ^ Simon Stephens, Heritage Fund backs digital volunteering, Museumsassociation.org, 26 November 2021
  9. ^ "René Olivieri appointed as Interim Chair of The National Heritage Memorial Fund". Gov.uk (Press release). 30 December 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Heritage Fund Chair to step down". Arts Professional. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Dr Simon Thurley CBE appointed as new Chair". Heritage Lottery Fund.
  12. ^ The Prime Minister has appointed Dr Simon Thurley CBE as Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Gov.uk, 25 February 2021
  13. ^ "Ros Kerslake OBE". The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Chief Executive, Ros Kerslake CBE to leave The Heritage Fund at end of 2021". Heritage Lottery Fund.
  15. ^ "Eilish McGuinness". The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Major Grants" (PDF). Heritage Lottery Fund. 1 June 2015. p. 18. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Kennet And Avon Canal Locks Turned Into River Of Light". Culture24. 24 December 2002. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  18. ^ "'Largest' park's history restored". BBC News. 2 March 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Maritime Museum gets go-ahead". BBC News. 25 July 2002. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Museum wins £12m grant". BBC News. 31 January 2002. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  21. ^ "£4m grant to Huddersfield Park". Horticulture Week. 13 October 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Halifax Georgian Piece Hall awarded lottery grant". BBC News. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Titian saved for the nation". Country Life. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

External links

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