The Great Place scheme, which HLF helped design and fund across the UK, responds to the specific needs of Scottish places, from city and island-wide initiatives to rural areas. The funding will place heritage at the heart of creating better places for people to live and visit.

Communities will shape projects centred on their unique heritage, addressing issues including poverty, health and education.

[quote=Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland] "Heritage and culture gives a place a unique identity and makes it special for the people that live there".[/quote]

The Great Place projects

The successful Great Place projects are:

1. Outer Hebrides: Heritage for People - £156,000
2. Paisley and Renfrewshire: Developing a Cultural Destination - £250,000
3. Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere: PLACE (People, Land, Art, Culture, Environment) - £150,000
4. Glasgow: Reawakening Glasgow’s Canal - £340,100
5. Dunfermline: Lighting up the Auld Grey Toun - £288,000
6. Badenoch Heritage: Bringing the Past to the 21st Century - £352,000
7. Greenock: Stories from the Street - £200,000
8. Falkirk: Landscape, industry and work - £462,300
9. Preston, Seton, Gosford: Heritage Connections - £249,000

Celebrating Scotland's unique heritage

Matt Hancock, UK Government Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), said: "Heritage is what makes our towns and cities unique. It attracts tourists and visitors and inspires local residents and businesses. 

"This £2.4m investment in Scotland, funded by National Lottery players from across the UK, is harnessing that power to bring communities together, strengthening local economies, and making a real difference to people’s lives across the country."

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “In Scotland’s towns and rural areas, there are numerous buildings and places of cultural significance.  I commend the Great Place Scheme and welcome this investment from HLF in supporting communities in the development and promotion of their local cultural assets.”

Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland, added: “Heritage gives a place a unique identity and makes it special for the people that live there. It’s the roots if you like. This scheme will show how building on those roots has a hugely positive impact on local economies in terms of health, employment and education, as well as instilling community cohesion and pride.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, we are enabling a step-change in thinking, encouraging local leaders to come together and recognise that heritage is a driving force for change.”