National Lottery Heritage Grants

St Cuthbert's: Opening Doors

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington

Project description: To undertake necessary repairs to the roof of the Church, to improve the building’s energy efficiency and make ongoing running costs more sustainable.

Decision: Award grant of £249,190 (70%)

Building Homes for Dales House Birds

Applicant: Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust

Project description: Conserve and preserve bird nesting populations through community engagement, habitat creation and outreach.

Decision: Award grant of £249,688 (76%)

Recording and Presenting our Yesterdays for Tomorrow – Using Heritage to Promote Community Cohesion & Digital Literacy

Applicant: Thorpe Thewles History Group

Project description: To create a sense of belonging through heritage and connection through upskilling members.

Decision: Award grant of £60,849 (100%)

One Ocean Roadshow: Transforming Ocean Literacy in Hard-to-Reach Communities Across Northern England

Applicant: The Marine Conservation Society

Project description: To protect and preserve the UK’s coastal and marine ecosystems – rich in biodiversity and historical significance – from threats posed by human activity, pollution and environmental degradation by promoting ocean literacy, citizen science and conservation efforts.

Decision: Award grant of £237,000 (60%)

Sweet Legacies (working title)

Applicant: York Citizens' Theatre Trust Ltd

Project description: To engage marginalised groups across York in exploring and reinterpreting the Rowntree family’s legacy of social reform welfare and community wellbeing, allowing them to share their insights through creative projects that connect past and present.

Decision: Award grant of £113,225 (91%)

Renewed Resilience

Applicant: The Heritage Trust for the North West (HTNW)

Project description: To enhance and secure the future of heritage conservation in the North West by revitalising HTNW into a leading charity that promotes cultural identity, manages historic assets and fosters community engagement, driving educational initiatives.

Decision: Award grant of £180,345 (59%)

The UK Gospel Music Hall of Fame – The Legacy Archive

Applicant: Gospel Music Industry Alliance CIC

Project description: To collect, curate, preserve and share the history of gospel music in the UK, highlighting the significant contributions of Black communities to music and culture while ensuring that the stories of pioneers and trailblazers are recorded for future generations.

Decision: Award grant of £40,000 (100%)

Project Title: Keighley Bangla Mela

Applicant: ISSE Ltd

Project description: To preserve and celebrate the rich musical and cultural heritage of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Keighley, particularly focusing on the Baul music tradition. To prevent the loss of this heritage through community engagement and interactive workshops that will culminate in a Bangla Mela event.

Decision: Reject

#HP Cleethorpes Dynamic Understanding of the Natural Environment (DUNE) Project

Applicant: North East Lincolnshire Council

Project description: To enhance the ecological heritage of the Humber Estuary, particularly its salt marsh and sand dune habitats, by fostering community engagement, improving public understanding of its ecological significance and promoting conservation efforts to support migratory bird populations.

Decision: Award grant of £250,000 (100%)

Weaving Stories

Applicant: The Cathedral Church of St Peter Bradford

Project description: Centring Bradford Cathedral in the UK’s city of culture initiative by co-creating a tapestry with local communities that reflects the rich heritage of the wool trade, while preserving endangered textile skills and fostering long-lasting connections among Bradford’s diverse populations.

Decision: Award grant of £58,482 (100%)
 

Building a Future for St James Over Darwen

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of St James Over Darwen

Project description: To undertake necessary repairs on the Grade II listed church in Darwen as coal mining operations under the building caused the land to sink. 

Decision: Award grant of £93,400 (100%)

Expression of Heritage & Diversity: Forcibly displaced people celebrate their cultures through Art, Craft, Literature & Food

Applicant: Triangular CIO

Project description: Exploring heritage important to refugees and diaspora in Newcastle and Gateshead by facilitating book groups that examine classical texts from participants' home countries in their original languages, reflecting each region’s literary and historical context.

Decision: Reject

St. Brigid's Arms: Voices of Womxn of Irish Heritage in the North of England

Applicant: Emerald LENS CIC

Project description: To capture and celebrate the intangible heritage of Irish women in the North of England through creative workshops, storytelling and exhibitions exploring themes of identity, belonging, and intergenerational Irishness.

Decision: Award grant of £138,758 (93%)

Saving deaf young people's culture and heritage

Applicant: Deaf Experience Limited

Project description: To protect and promote D/deaf culture and British Sign Language (BSL) among D/deaf young people, who face isolation in mainstream education, by creating a supportive community that fosters a sense of belonging and identity tied to their unique cultural heritage.

Decision: Reject

Cultural Heritage Preservation and Promotion for Black and Minoritised Communities in Sunderland

Applicant: New Horizon Sunderland

Project description: To celebrate, document and share the rich heritage of global majority communities in Sunderland through community archiving, education, dialogue and cultural events. To ultimately foster inclusivity and recognise the significant contributions of these communities to the city’s identity.

Decision: Award grant of £125,231 (100%)

Journeys of the North West: Stories Across Borders

Applicant: Tales To Inspire 2021 CIC

Project description: To capture and share the diverse stories of migrants in the North West of England over three years, fostering understanding and connection among communities while highlighting the rich cultural heritage and contributions that migration brings to the region.

Decision: Reject

A Moving Image Legacy for Bradford

Applicant: Yorkshire Film Archive

Project description: In 2025, the Yorkshire Film Archive will launch a contemporary campaign to create a moving image legacy for Bradford, preserving the city’s diverse film history and cultural memories.

Decision: Reject

Helen Wycherley Heritage Association

Applicant: Helen Wycherley Heritage Association

Project description: To undertake the preservation and necessary repairs to the lifeboat ‘Helen Wycherley’ which has saved countless lives.

Decision: Reject
 

Wor Toon 175

Applicant: Newcastle upon Tyne YMCA

Project description: To create a detailed record to preserve and celebrate Newcastle’s evolution of jobs.

Decision: Reject

Chokwe Tribe and People of Yorkshire and Greater Manchester Proverbe, Alphabet, Arts & Sayings

Applicant: A-Z Communities Inclusion

Project description: To preserve and celebrate the cultural legacy of the Chokwe people by documenting their history, traditions and art forms, fostering community engagement and promoting biculturalism among the Chokwe diaspora in the UK.

Decision: Reject

St Paul's 21

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Ryhope

Project description: To preserve the historical integrity and ambience of a Grade II listed church by implementing an updated heating system that aligns with its original architectural features and the Church of England’s sustainability goals for 2030.

Decision: Reject

Pits to Pitches

Applicant: Mid Yorkshire Community Foundation CIC

Project description: To preserve and celebrate Barnsley’s coal mining legacy and its influence on local sports, bridging generations by documenting histories and reviving traditional games through educational events and community activities. 

Decision: Reject

Heritage history and cohesion project

Applicant: Lancashire Community Helpers CIC

Project description: To restore and preserve a Victorian pavilion in Blackburn’s Corporation Park as a community hub, revitalising its original architectural features, supporting historical education and fostering social inclusion through diverse community activities.

Decision: Reject

Guardians of Valour: Preserving the Legacy of Our Veterans

Applicant: Veterans In Crisis CIC

Project description: To document and share veterans’ life stories from service to civilian life, capturing an evolving heritage of resilience, mental health awareness and community support that honours and sustains veterans and their families.

Decision: Reject

After the Bombardment, The Battle of Cayton Bay, December 1914 – March 1915

Applicant: Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre Limited

Project description: To digitally conserve and document 20 shipwrecks from the Scarborough minefield. To uncover the diverse, untold stories of sailors from multiple nations who lost their lives, thereby highlighting a rarely acknowledged impact of the First World War’s maritime history.

Decision: Reject

The St. Mary's Dunsforth Welcome Project

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Aldborough with Boroughbridge and Roecliffe

Project description: To conserve and enhance St. Mary’s Church, Dunsforth, a Grade II listed church from 1861. To repair its original fabric and adapt the space for community use, thereby increasing public engagement with its historical and architectural significance.

Decision: Reject

Last Unicorn Airways: Co-creation Heritage Project and sensory immersive theatre experience with Rotherham Children – looking back, going forward?

Applicant: The Blanket Fort Club Ltd

Project description: Co-creating an immersive eco-sensory show with children from mainstream and special schools in Rotherham. The project aims to foster social cohesion, combat racism and ethnic exclusion, and capture the evolving heritage and identity of the town through the exploration of local memories and stories. 

Decision: Reject

Y We Must Never Forget

Applicant: Newcastle upon Tyne YMCA

Project description: To commemorate the 175th anniversary of YMCA Newcastle by restoring a war memorial honouring local soldiers who died in World War I, while preserving and sharing their stories to educate the community and reconnect with their living relatives.

Decision: Reject

Doncaster Growtopia

Applicant: Chime In CIC

Project description: To preserve Rossington’s heritage through coal mining and Second World War campaigns, engage members in environmental improvements, enhance inclusivity in environmental action and promote sustainability by connecting historical lessons with modern practices like gardening and recycling.

Decision: Reject

Grant increase

Securing the future of Severn, a yacht built in Arnside in 1912

Applicant: Friends of Crossfield’s 1912 Yacht Severn

Project description: To restore and return Severn, a 1912 Arnside-built yacht, to sailing condition as a symbol of the village’s maritime heritage, while preserving traditional boat-building skills, engaging youth in sailing and establishing a heritage centre to celebrate local boat-building history.

Decision: Award grant Increase of £29,887 to make a total grant of £87,917