National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000

HEART: Heritage, Environment and Resilience Together

Applicant: The Lake District Foundation

Project description: To deliver short and long-term climate action to protect the Lake District World Heritage Site from climate change-induced risks and damage, involving the local community, landowners and other active groups with shared goals.

Decision: Award grant of £205,564 (100%)

REVERB: Echoes of Barrow in Furness Music Scenes

Applicant: Octopus Collective Ltd

Project description: To share and celebrate Barrow-in-Furness’ grass roots pop music heritage by collecting materials securing participation from key stakeholders and active community members, to attract and inspire new and younger audiences.

Decision: Award grant of £11,000 (96%)

Writing on the Wall: 25 Years of Creating Change Through the Power of Words

Applicant: Writing on the Wall Limited

Project description: To focus on conserving Writing on the Wall’s 25-year archive, deliver a community engagement programme and conduct a feasibility study for the long-term preservation of the collection.

Decision: Award grant of £198,196 (90%)

The New Norse Stars

Applicant: Windermere Science Festivals CIC

Project description: To revive interest in Viking Heritage in Furness through learning events and activities with young people in the area.

Decision: Award grant of £30,872 (95%)

Dancing Threads

Applicant: Global Grooves

Project description: To protect and secure the future of traditional dance and textile practices in Morris, South Asian and carnival and procession cultures, with performance and workshops, and supporting the community to become custodians of these practices.

Decision: Award grant of £72,812 (46%)

A Century of Memories

Applicant: Rotherham United Community Trust

Project description: To gather memories of those involved with the club over the past 100 years through creation of memorabilia and activities, aiming to engage and connect a diverse range of community members.

Decision: Award grant of £100,600 (95%)

The Big K: The Pit That Shaped a Community

Applicant: One to One Development Trust

Project description: To produce a film capturing the stories and voices of those affected by The Big K, the UK’s last deep coal mine, and sharing the film through interactive public screenings.

Decision: Award grant of £15,140 (100%)

The Gresley 150 Experience: Celebrating Engineering and Innovation in Doncaster

Applicant: The Gresley Society Trust

Project description: To commemorate the 150th birthday of Sir Nigel Gresley in 2026 by sharing the story of his life, works and legacy through The Gresley Society’s and partnering organisations’ records and artefacts.

Decision: Award grant of £16,700 (97%)

Thriving with the seasons

Applicant: Reconnection to Wellness CIC

Project description: To deliver 67 workshops which will help reconnect Blackburn and Darwen residents with seasonal and sustainable living practices, food growing and rituals.

Decision: Award grant of £46,846 (99%)

Unheard Leeds: Social Histories Connected

Applicant: Fall into Place Theatre

Project description: To produce an oral history archive of significant but under-shared social heritage of older LGBTQ+ people, people seeking asylum and women who are unpaid carers and parents in Leeds. 

Decision: Award grant of £24,097 (51%)

Northumberland Coast Dark Skies: Conserving and connecting the nocturnal heritage of the Northumberland Coast National Landscape

Applicant: Northumberland County Council

Project description: To protect Northumberland Coast’s dark skies by improving control of light pollution, protecting and supporting nocturnal species and engage the community to support the area’s conservation. 

Decision: Award grant of £227,247 (80%)

North East Disability History: Past, Present and Future

Applicant: Difference

Project description: To celebrate disability history in line with the 30th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act by building from previous projects, producing new material from people’s stories, and sharing in accessible spaces.

Decision: Award grant of £108,963 (100%)

MUTTON: Young People Reclaiming Local Heritage

Applicant: Brave Words CIC

Project description: To convey parallels in poverty in Leeds in the present and the 1800s through theatre, while involving young people in research and performance, and engaging adults in heritage and storytelling workshops.

Decision: Award grant of £15,249 (29%)

Standing Firm in Power and Pride: Black History Month 2025 Celebration

Applicant: Holding-Hands (North East) Community Interest Company

Project description: To explore and share African and Caribbean heritage and its evolution in the North East and wider UK through oral history recording, youth-led workshops, culture showcases, discussions and exhibition.

Decision: Award grant of £10,750 (100%)

Rothbury Estate: for nature and the nation

Applicant: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts

Project description: To protect and enhance the Rothbury Estate into a key natural and cultural heritage location through stakeholder research and engagement, co-created land management and initiating the creation of a 40-mile nature corridor.

Decision: Award grant of £249,914 (74%)

Mackem Musical Memories: the history of Sunderland Music City

Applicant: Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture Trust

Project description: To collate Sunderland’s music heritage through its participants, producing research and an exhibition to celebrate this in line with the city’s recent achievement of International Music City Status.

Decision: Reject

Northern Force

Applicant: Sale Sharks Foundation

Project description: To engage 600 young people and 200 older people with rugby heritage, and create a podcast with winning club players as an enduring digital legacy. 

Decision: Award grant of £143,810 (100%)

60 Years of Music: the story of Leeds Conservatoire

Applicant: Leeds Conservatoire

Project description: To celebrate Leeds Conservatoire’s 60th anniversary with a three-year project which will historicise the club's activities in the narrative of Leeds’s music history and generate archival material to cement this.

Decision: Award grant of £116,460 (100%)

Kaleidoscope

Applicant: Northern School Of Contemporary Dance

Project description: To celebrate the school’s 40th anniversary by sharing the stories of the diverse community members who made it, by collecting living memories from the community and building them into community events and performances.

Decision: Award grant of £247,159 (98%)

Ringing Through Time: Restoring the historic legacy of the Church of Our Lady

Applicant: Delaval Parochial Church Council

Project description: To repair the 900-year-old church building and deliver targeted activities to new audiences, while sharing the building’s history and continuing to be a resource for the community.

Decision: Award grant of £245,215 (85%)

The Visiting Stitch

Applicant: We Matter CIC

Project description: To help South Asian women feel prouder of their heritage through traditional handicraft workshops and promoting practices of reuse and repair.

Decision: Reject

Know Your City

Applicant: Bradford Mechanics Institute Library

Project description: To complete internal refurbishment of the library and deliver events and activities which celebrate the role of the Institute and its people in Bradford.

Decision: Award grant of £120,354 (100%)

Burnley Empire's New Chapter: Preserving Space To Create A Future

Applicant: Burnley Empire Trust

Project description: To save the Burnley Empire Building, share its history and develop it into a valuable space for the community by understanding and delivering for their needs, whilst collaborating with local organisations to deliver community events in the space.

Decision: Award grant of £198,013 (100%)

Polka Dots and Pots CIC

Applicant: Polka Dots and Pots CIC

Project description: To protect ceramic painting heritage in Liverpool by creating a drop-in space where people can practice ceramic painting as a fun and wellbeing activity, engaging local children and older adults.

Decision: Reject

Preserving the Palaeolithic of Wirral

Applicant: Prehistoric Wirral

Project description: To analyse and catalogue a collection of prehistoric artefacts before adding them to a collection of Wirral’s prehistory, for study and exhibition.

Decision: Reject

Mbunda Heritage: Our Stories, Our Strength

Applicant: Bonkuin CIC

Project description: To preserve and celebrate African heritage in Manchester by supporting oral history skills and fostering cultural sharing between different African nationalities and generations.

Decision: Reject

Cycling Through Time: Manchester's Cycling Heritage in the 1800s

Applicant: MAXTRAX CIC

Project description: To collate Openshaw’s cycling heritage in a range of formats and share with the community, whilst encouraging people to cycle as a lower-carbon travel option by sharing the best local routes.

Decision: Reject

The resurrection of Princes Road Jewish Synagogue as a cultural heritage icon for the City of Liverpool

Applicant: Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation

Project description: To increase visitors to the Princess Road Synagogue by improving and modernising its facilities and accessibility, developing a Jewish train through Liverpool including the Synagogue, and creating a Mediterranean garden, ultimately aiming to boost the Synagogue’s status as a heritage asset to Liverpool. 

Decision: Reject

Nature Nurtures: A Greenhouse Heritage Project

Applicant: Park View School

Project description: To support young people with complex needs through accessible nature-based learning.

Decision: Reject

Championing, Preserving and Celebrating Cumbria's Racially Diverse Heritage and History

Applicant: Awaz (Cumbria) CIC

Project description: To lead an interactive community project which reveals and celebrates the diverse heritage of Cumbria by showcasing important figures in the area’s history from the Global Majority. 

Decision: Reject

From Pit Floor to Dance Floor

Applicant: North East Dance Community Interest Company

Project description: To reconnect Sunderland communities with the area’s mining, shipbuilding, and manufacturing heritage through dance, storytelling, and heritage activities.

Decision: Reject

The K4 Vermillion Giant

Applicant: Whitley Bay Big Local

Project description: To refurbish the kiosk of the Vermillion Giant phone service box in Whitley Bay, involving a local creative youth group and ensure it is recognised as a significant piece of history.

Decision: Reject

Where the Wildlings Flourish: Outdoor Play and Learn Sessions

Applicant: Freedom to Flourish CIC

Project description: To connect local families with Merseyside’s natural heritage through nature-based learning, promoting wellbeing and aiming to reduce antisocial behaviour in an affected local greenspace. 

Decision: Reject

Bringing the Past to Life: Exploring Identity, Culture and History in the Modern World

Applicant: Davren: Community Solutions C.I.C.

Project description: To revive and foster pride in Roma heritage by helping Roma people to improve their language through classes, Roma dictionaries and the production of a documentary film and a celebratory festival.

Decision: Reject

Moss Side Story: The West Indian Sports and Social Club

Applicant: West Indian Sports and Social Club and Community Centre

Project description: To explore and collate the history of the West Indian Sports and Social Club and Community Centre, engaging young people from a local education trust to curate a collection of memorabilia which will be built into a documentary film and followed with a celebratory event.

Decision: Reject

Queerspectives: Redefining Relationships between LGBTQIA+ Communities and Institutional Archives

Applicant: Cinema Nation C.I.C.

Project description: To hold community Queer heritage film screenings, archive visits, walks and conversations to help empower members of Liverpool’s LGBTQIA+ community to become more involved local film heritage.

Decision: Reject

Sticks to Sculptures: How Willow Connects Our Communities

Applicant: Burscough Community Farm CIC

Project description: To grow and harvest willow for weaving, art and sculpture, and produce an online and in-person exhibition to share the history of willow in Ormskirk.

Decision: Reject

Hamilton Square 200: Connecting Heritage, People and Place

Applicant: Make LCR CIC

Project description: To celebrate the 200th anniversary of The Hamilton Square Conservation Area through events and exhibitions involving local business and the community in the sites care. 

Decision: Reject

Bradford Roots and Global Routes (BRGR)

Applicant: All Star Ents Ltd

Project description: To get young people in Bradford involved with Bradford’s musical and creative heritage by supporting them to create and produce their own exhibition and performance.

Decision: Reject

Help Us Preserve Our Heritage and Keep It Warm

Applicant: Gorton Evangelical Church

Project description: To renovate the church building and improve its facilities, making it more inviting to the community to visit and participate in their other projects. 

Decision: Reject

Silloth Airfield Project

Applicant: Silloth Tourism Action Group

Project description: To install information boards on the Silloth Military Trail and install a World War 2 Pickett Hamilton Fort in one of the trail locations. 

Decision: Reject

Miners of West Wylam

Applicant: Friends of Eastwoods Park

Project description: To research miners killed in the West Wylam Colliery and create a memorial to them in the local park.

Decision: Reject