At our September committee meetings we awarded over £32m in grants to projects across the UK. Among them are six organisations working to make their local area a better place to live for people and wildlife.

Together the projects will improve the condition of and access to heritage, restore habitats and bring empty and at-risk listed buildings back into use. 

What we've funded

Plas Gunter Mansion, Abergavenny 

With our £3.3m grant, Plas Gunter Masion Trust will restore a house that played a significant role in the political and religious struggles of the 17th century. In the 1670s, owner Thomas Gunter allowed Catholic mass to be held illegally in an attic chapel. Now vital repairs will enable the Grade II* listed building to open to the public for the first time.

Owen Davies, Chair of Plas Gunter Mansion Trust, said: “The potential of our project to engage more people with heritage, boost the local economy and make Abergavenny a better place to live, work and visit is considerable.”

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens 

We’ve awarded Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens £5.2m towards a development programme that will restore the much-loved building and reimagine its exhibitions and facilities. The project will create an inclusive, welcoming space that supports the city’s regeneration and reflects its local communities.

Inverbroom Estate, The Highlands

The Scottish Wildlife Trust will transform Inverbroom for local people and nature with a £745,268 development grant and a potential further £1m in delivery funding. New plans will help the estate – which features rare blanket bogs, semi-natural woodlands and numerous lochs – become a model for landscape-scale nature recovery.

The River Roding

Funding of £1.6m will kick-start the restoration of The River Roding – which runs from Essex to Barking Creek in East London – after decades of pollution and neglect. The project aims to improve water quality, support nature recovery and reconnect communities with their local river.

Benton End, Suffolk

We’ve awarded Benton End a development grant of £294,221 ahead of a potential delivery grant of £2.6m. The Grade II* listed 16th-century house is the former home of artist and gardener Sir Cedric Morris (1889–1982) and his partner, painter and sculptor Arthur Lett-Haines (1894–1978). The project will develop plans to repair the building and make it more accessible to visitors.

Carlisle Memorial, Belfast

Carlisle Memorial has received a £223,076 development grant ahead of a potential delivery grant of £1.1m to draw up plans to restore and upgrade the Grade B1 listed former church buildings. The Belfast landmark is currently on the Built Heritage at Risk Northern Ireland Register.

Saving heritage

Discover more projects protecting heritage at risk and helping communities enjoy the places they care about.