Change in approach for UK National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is expected to announce major changes to its funding priorities.

UK.- It’s all change at the UK National Lottery ahead of its 30th anniversary. Allwyn has taken over operations through its acquisition of Camelot a year ahead of the start of its own licence. Now the National Lottery Heritage Fund has revealed that it will make significant changes to its funding priorities.

Writing in The Arts Newspaper, Simon Thurley, chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said changes would be made to address the concerns people have for the health and future of the UK’s heritage after two turbulent years caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thurley praised the impact the National Lottery has had on good causes in its 29-year history but said that UK heritage organisations fear for their long-term future. Some 20 per cent of the lottery’s revenue goes to heritage, but Thurley noted that the definition of what heritage entails has become broader, now referring to “almost anything from the past which people today want to preserve and enjoy.”

Heritage projects can range from threatened toads and orchids to artistic masterpieces, castles, cathedrals, museums and archaeological sites. However, funding has become harder to raise. Thurley says that’s caused organisations to chase government regeneration by selling the economic benefits of projects, leading much funding to go to new builds or high street regenerations rather than conservative and restoration.

Inflation is also causing problems because many projects end up needing more funds than initially anticipated. In response to these challenges, the National Lottery Heritage Fund will change its approach, focusing on longer-term benefits, with a 10- or 20-year view of investment on whole places rather than individual cultural attractions.

“A radically simplified process”

Thurley said the fund will “intensify its investment in high streets, parks and gardens – indeed whole urban and rural landscapes”. To do that it will be more proactive, aiming to encourage projects to come forward and will adopt a “radically simplified process” under which applications will be assessed on four criteria: saving heritage; protecting the environment; inclusion, access and participation; and organisational sustainability.

Thurley said: “There is a recognition that its current upper funding limit, introduced in 2019, is too low. Applications will now be open for sums up to, and, exceptionally, beyond £10m. But new builds will now be discouraged. The fund will prefer the reuse of old buildings.

“Nobody believes that the next few years will be easy for heritage in the UK, but the Heritage Fund hopes that the realignment of its priorities should help give confidence to plan for a long-term future and build the contribution that heritage makes to national life.”

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