We reached a major milestone at HLF this month as the first Heritage Enterprise project in the UK opened for business.

The former Northern Counties Club 

After lying derelict for over a decade, the former Northern Counties Club in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, reopened as The Bishop’s Gate Hotel. It has been transformed from an abandoned, pigeon-infested eyesore into a major new economic asset. Most of the Northern Counties’ original features - including a mahogany revolving door and dramatic sweeping staircase - have been retained or restored, and the building now boasts 31 boutique bedrooms, alongside a beautiful new bar and restaurant spaces.

Even more importantly, the construction project to restore the building created work for more than 130 people, and a further 60 jobs are being created by the hotel. It’s also hoped that the hotel will draw more visitors to this part of the city, sparking further regeneration across the nearby Cathedral Quarter. The Bishop’s Gate Hotel is a great example of how HLF-investment transforms unproductive buildings into economic assets - bringing jobs, investment and renewed hope to Derry and beyond.

Ashton Old Baths

We’re now looking forward to the first Heritage Enterprise project in England opening for business - Ashton Old Baths in Tameside, Greater Manchester. This once-proud Victorian building has sat empty and unused since the pool closed in the 1970s.

But now, thanks to a £1.7million Heritage Enterprise award, Ashton’s neglected but much-loved baths have been revitalised and reenergised, and will soon reopen as a digital business centre, hooked up to Ashton’s newly-installed ultra-high-speed broadband network. An innovative new wooden structure, housed within the main pool hall, has created over 6,500 square feet of commercial space, creating homes for a range of digital, creative and media businesses - bringing enterprise, innovation and much-needed growth to Ashton.

Today, in places like Derry, Ashton and many other towns and cities across the UK, there is at least one historic building standing empty. These once took pride of place at the heart of their local community. Heritage Enterprise aims to restore them to their former glory. 

How Heritage Enterprise can help

By investing in ‘problem buildings’, which may have been vacant or even derelict for some time, Heritage Enterprise funding can reverse the decline of not only a single building, but a whole area.  HLF is awarding up to £5m for partnerships between private businesses and not-for-profit groups to fund the vital repairs needed to convert these derelict buildings into new, usable commercial spaces – creating new jobs, new opportunities, new businesses, and economic growth in the places that need it most.  

We’ve already awarded more than £80m to Heritage Enterprise projects across the UK - from Inverness to Cornwall - but we want to see more great ideas coming forward to transform much-loved but neglected historic buildings into beacons for business everywhere.