The restoration of the historic millworkers’ housing at New Lanark, one of the largest and most successful conservation projects in Europe, is to be completed, while in Inverness the economic fortunes of one of the most deprived areas of the city are set to be turned around. Other awards were made to Kirkintilloch Town Hall and Davidson Cottage Hospital in Girvan.

Commenting on today’s announcements, Colin McLean, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, said: "Historic buildings give our town and city centres their character. They differentiate one town from another giving each a sense of history that communities can identify with. Investing lottery money to revitalise them not only has an important impact on the local economy through jobs, tourism and investment, but because of their heritage nature, once restored they make a place much more attractive to live, visit and work."

New Lanark World Heritage Site has received initial support for a £1.6million Townscape Heritage bid from HLF for a project which will see Double Row, the last vacant and derelict tenement row in the 18th century mill village, restored for residential use. Of the eight tenements, seven will become residential accommodation while the eighth, Museum Stair, which was digitally scanned as part of the Scottish Ten, will feature in a new 3D virtual tour taking visitors back to different dates in its history. There will be project discovery days and opportunities to learn traditional building skills during the project and an interpretative app will be developed to help visitors understand the history of this important village.

Lorna Davidson, Director of New Lanark Trust, said: "We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting our ambitious project to complete the restoration and interpretation of historic millworkers’ housing in New Lanark. This is a big step forward for New Lanark Trust in finally achieving the restoration of Double Row, the last tenement block which remains to be brought back into use. New Lanark is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and conservation standards require to be world-class. Some of the earliest restoration work carried out in the village in the 1960s is now in need of upgrading, and it is extremely encouraging that HLF recognises and supports the significance of the works that we are planning to carry out. In addition we will be using an innovative mixture of 21st century digital technology and oral history to help people understand how New Lanark families lived in the past, and the social change that has taken place over the lifetime of this authentic and enduring community."

Highland Council has received earmarked funding1 of £1.67m to address the Academy Street area of Inverness – one of the oldest streets in the city dating back to 1720. Now dilapidated with several buildings at risk of loss, the Townscape Heritage project will revitalise and regenerate the area through repair and restoration, skills training and community development.

The Highland Council’s Leader, Councillor Drew Hendry, said: "This announcement is great news as it allows us to take forward work to significantly improve the city centre and give an important boost to the vitality of Inverness. We understand that effective regeneration is vital for the overall development of the city and I am therefore delighted that the work on Academy Street complements the other excellent work the Highland Council is doing with our partners, the community and the private sector to invest in other key areas of Inverness."

Other awards made include:

Kirkintilloch Town Hall
First-round pass of £835,600 including a development grant of £41,500
To restore the town hall as a community heritage and arts venue, which will include an industrial heritage museum.

Davidson Cottage Hospital
First-round pass of £1m including a development grant of £26,400
To transform the former local hospital building into an Enterprise Centre with rentable office and studio space for start-up businesses.

Notes to editors

A Townscape Heritage earmarked first-round pass means that money has been set aside by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the scheme in question. Competition at this stage is tough, and while it does not guarantee funding, it is an indication of positive support. The applicants can then progress to the second round and submit a further, fully-developed application to secure the full award. This early level of strong financial commitment means that THIs can build strong partnerships with the assurance that funding for their scheme is in place provided their final proposals develop well.

HLF’s Town Heritage programme encourages partnerships of local organisations to carry out repairs and other works to a number of historic buildings, structures or spaces. Grants range from £500,000 to £2m. To date, HLF has invested over £228m regenerating towns that have suffered serious social and economic decline.

A first-round pass means the project meets HLF criteria for funding and HLF believes the project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award. On occasion, an applicant with a first-round pass will also be awarded development funding towards the development of their scheme.

To date HLF has invested over £588million in Scotland’s heritage.

Further information

Heritage Lottery Fund: Shiona Mackay on 01786 870 638 / 07779 142 890, email: shionamackay1@btinternet.com or Jon Williams on 020 7591 6035, email: jonw@hlf.org.uk, Twitter: @heritagelottery.

New Lanark: Lorna Davidson on 01555 661 345 / 07780 935 934, email: lorna.davidson@newlanark.org.

Academy Street, Inverness: Sylvia Tarrant, Public Relations Officer on 07776 481 267 / 01463 702 073.

Davidsons Hospital: Stuart Lindsay on 01465 710 628, email: stuart@ailsahorizons.co.uk.

Kirkintilloch Town Hall: Fraser Robb on 0141 578 8621, email: Fraser.robb@eastdunbarton.gov.uk or Alan Muir on 0141 574 5561, email: alan.muir@eastdunbarton.gov.uk.