The UK National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced a £50m fund to support the heritage sector as organisations struggle to manage the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Using money from the the National Lottery, the Heritage Fund will alleviate some of the immediate COVID-19-related pressure for those organisations most in need, initially for a period of three to six months.
The £50m will be available in grants of between £3,000 and £50,000 with applications to open in the coming days.
The Fund said however that it will continue to support “more than 2,500 projects that we have already committed to,” an investment of more than £1bn.
Eilish McGuinness, National Lottery Heritage Fund Executive Director – Business Delivery, said: “We know that circumstances are incredibly challenging for our heritage community right now and we want to do everything we can to support them. We hope this new fund will be a lifeline and a beacon of hope for organisations affected.
“Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, creating economic prosperity and supporting personal wellbeing. All of these are going to be vitally important as we emerge from this current crisis.”
UK Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston (pictured) added: “It is important that we do all we can to ensure our nation’s remarkable heritage landscapes, buildings and monuments – and the hardworking organisations that protect them – are supported at this difficult time.
“Heritage plays an important role in our communities by supporting jobs and economic growth as well as helping us to understand our shared past.
“This new £50m package from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will help to protect our most at risk heritage throughout this unprecedented period.”
In a statement, the Heritage Fund said priority will be given to applications where there is limited or no access to other sources of support; where heritage is most at risk; and where an organisation is at risk of severe financial crisis due to COVID-19.
