Thriving Places
![People sitting in a sunny park, near a bandstand](/sites/default/files/styles/main_image_desktop/public/media/imgs/Bandstand_Pearson%20Park_North_0.jpg.webp?itok=JeMxxCvU)
What we mean by place
‘Place’ can mean many things, and definitions vary depending on where you are or who you ask. But examples include a local community, a natural landscape or an entire city.
How heritage supports great places
Many areas across the UK have a ‘sense of place’ that inspires local pride and increases wellbeing.
Heritage sits at the heart of a place’s identity, adding depth, character and value. This can include buildings and monuments, landscapes, high streets and parks.
Heritage helps connect people and communities to a place and boosts local economic prosperity.
Our funding for heritage projects
We welcome projects that take a 'place-based approach'. Place-based working is about:
- identifying challenges and opportunities in the heritage of a place
- developing responses which bring about benefits for both the heritage and the place
- thinking beyond an individual project by considering how it relates to your local area and community
- partnering or coordinating with other organisations to increase the impact of your project
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently prioritising projects that create better places to live, work and visit, and boost local economies.
See our funding programmes to find out how to apply.
A place funder, not just a project funder
We also support place-based working by:
- devolving decision-making, which enables locally based staff, with local expertise, to assess applications and make awards
- addressing under-representation in our funding of geographical areas experiencing deprivation
- working with local councils and others to connect our funding to wider local priorities
- working with national partners and agencies on major place-based initiatives
Running a place-based project
Need help or inspiration?
You can find useful guidance here:
And discover how heritage can create better places in the project examples below.
![Four people stand in a grand hall](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/St%20Columb%27s%20Hall%20National%20Lottery%20Heritage%20Fund.jpg.webp?itok=KtK-2m8y)
News
A new dawn for St Columb’s Hall as future is secured
![People posing with the Heritage Fund logo with a beautiful landscape of a glen in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/Glencoe%20Museum%20in%20the%20glen%2012.JPG.webp?itok=6Cj053yn)
News
£1.4million to transform the Highlands’ Glencoe Folk Museum
![Stour Valley Nature Reserve A group of children and adults doing outdoor activities by a river](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/kids_activities_adjusted_stour_3_bcp_council_mark_holloway.jpg.webp?itok=Qg5MNpNZ)
Stories
How to create sustainable urban green space in your area
![Dr Edson Burton](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/Edson-Burton.jpg.webp?itok=fri6m7Uh)
Blogs
Why we need to tell untold stories
![Child using a touch screen in an interactive exhibition](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/CV126_LincolnCathedral_220214.jpg.webp?itok=EnsK7YGG)
News
Cathedrals: bringing the UK’s ancient monuments to life
News
Corby – a town with a centuries-old royal tradition
![The First Light Pavilion at Jodrell Bank (right had side) with the Lovell telescope in the background (left hand side)](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/First%20Light%20Exterior_3%20%28c%29%20Andrew%20Brooks.jpg.webp?itok=NyR4G69D)
News
Out of this world: Jodrell Bank's First Light Pavilion set to open
![The Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse. The Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse.](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/Camellia%20House.jpg.webp?itok=7X6EZ90W)
News
Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse to bloom again thanks to £4million
Projects
London Borough of Newham
Newham Heritage Month is an annual heritage festival that celebrates the borough’s local heritage, led by the community for the community.
![The Falkirk Kelpie sculptures, with boats on the canal and people walking along the paths](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/falkirk-954.jpg.webp?itok=YhbY0eTF)
News
Working in partnership to improve places in Scotland
![Two clowns performing in front of a crowd seated in deck chairs. Photograph by Graeme Oxby.](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_body_full/public/media/imgs/landing-blocks/GPS-954.jpg.webp?itok=3PhD0Rzd)
Publications
Placing heritage at the heart of communities
![People dancing as part of a cultural festival at the Birmingham Commonwealth games](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/MicrosoftTeams-image.png.webp?itok=pRV8ELzC)
Videos