Thriving Places
Pearson Park in Kingston upon Hull
We are committed to supporting heritage projects that create better places to live, work and visit.
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.
Publications
Great Place Scheme Nations interim report
Between December 2017 and March 2018, The Fund awarded through Great Place Scheme Nations (GPS Nations), grants ranging between £150,000 to £500,000 to 18 places in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
St Grwst Church, Conwy.
News
RSA Heritage Index reveals the UK’s heritage hotspots
The 2020 report highlights the UK’s best areas for heritage and puts forward the case for heritage as a means of recovery in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Blogs
Partners and pioneers – building back after the pandemic
Town centres are struggling – after the pandemic, innovative partnerships and investment in heritage can help them flourish again.
Stories
25 years: reviving the forgotten heritage of The Broads
Great Yarmouth A stone’s throw from the heart of The Broads and its sprawling landscape in the East of England, is the seaside town of Great Yarmouth. As we hear more and more that our coastal towns are suffering from neglect, National Lottery funding over the last 25 years has aimed to buck the
Stories
25 years: inspiring passion, people and pride in Rochdale
“The River Roch ran beneath our feet encased in slabs of grey concrete but now it runs again so free as once it was and so should be..."* Set on the foothills of the sweeping Pennines, Rochdale was the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. A hub of the ancient wool trade, by the 1900s the booming
Stories
25 years: the cultural renaissance of Dundee, City of Discovery
Dundee: rising from the River Tay Scotland’s fourth largest city, with a population of 150,000, sits on the Firth of Tay on the east coast of Scotland. Today, the river that shaped its past is helping define its future. Home to innovation and industry Dundee began as a strategic trading post and
Stories
25 years: from church to grime, Waltham Forest celebrates its heritage
“Thank you Lottery, I feel like a winner!” - Rory Sky What links a church, a dry cleaners and grime music? A difficult question but in this London borough at least, it’s clear – it's National Lottery investment and a growing sense of pride. A place of heritage In Lloyd Park, just outside the William
News
£13.6million National Lottery boost for Hull's maritime heritage
800 years of Hull’s maritime history to be placed at heart of its future thanks to "game-changer" regeneration plans.
Publications
Great Place Scheme evaluation (England)
BOP Consulting evaluation of the Great Place Scheme, an initiative which is piloting new approaches to putting culture at the heart of communities and local policy-making.
Stories
25 years: Derry Girls star takes us on a tour of her home city
Derry~Londonderry Also known as the Walled City thanks to its historic 17 th-century walls, Derry~Londonderry is Northern Ireland’s second-largest city. It is home to over 150,000 people and a wealth of heritage treasures, including museums, arts venues, cathedrals, parks and waterways. Over the
News
25 years: restoring the prosperity and pride of Blaenavon
Blaenavon: a community reborn Perched high on a South Wales hillside, Blaenavon is a community forged from the heat, smoke and dust of the Industrial Revolution. Its ironworks and coal pit provided the majority of the town’s residents with employment until 1980. The town's shops, churches, chapels
Stories
Long read: the future of The Piece Hall
Read: Part one: what saving Piece Hall did for Halifax. Cultural cachet There has been a knock-on effect on the cultural cachet of the town too. In 2018, BBC 6 Music named Halifax “the Shoreditch of the North”, citing a burgeoning music and craft beer scene. It has also recently been dubbed