Thriving Places
Pearson Park in Kingston upon Hull
We are investing in places, not just individual projects, to bring about benefits for people, places and our natural environment.
What we mean by place
‘Place’ refers to a meaningful location, and definitions vary depending on where you are and who you ask. It could mean a local community, a natural landscape or an entire city.
How heritage supports thriving places
Heritage plays a unique role in building pride in place by connecting communities and visitors to an area and helping to boost economies.
Buildings and monuments, landscapes, high streets, parks and nature sites all contribute to a sense of place alongside the stories, memories and experiences we associate with them.
Our funding for heritage projects
We welcome applications for heritage projects that take local needs, challenges and opportunities into account by:
- considering how the activity you deliver benefits your area
- valuing the experience and knowledge of your local communities
- partnering or co-ordinating with other organisations to have a wider impact
Projects taking this place-based approach can focus on different types of heritage and can include an individual heritage site or a wider area.
We are delivering strategic initiatives, as part of our Heritage 2033 strategy, that focus on place:
- Heritage Places is targeting place-based investment to boost pride in place and connect communities and visitors with heritage, distributing £200million across the UK during Heritage 2033
- Landscape Connections is investing £150million in around 20 long-term projects boosting nature recovery by supporting Designated Protected Landscapes across the UK and other world-class landscapes in Scotland.
- Nature Towns and Cities is a partnership initiative supporting places to improve the quality of, and access to, historic parks and urban green spaces, distributing £15million in 2025 for projects lasting up to three years
See our funding programmes, area-based projects good practice guidance and strategic initiatives pages to find out more.
Our approach to supporting places
We fund places, not just projects, by:
- valuing the local expertise of our Area and Nation Teams and Committees in our decision-making for grants
- engaging with a range of organisations and communities across the UK to make connections between priorities and projects
- delivering our place-based strategic initiatives: Heritage Places, Landscape Connections and Nature Towns and Cities
- working with partners and agencies to bring about benefits for places, such as the Architectural Heritage Fund’s Heritage Development Trusts programme
Discover how heritage can create better places in the project examples below.
Blogs
Community ownership: the future of high streets
Walking through my local town centre today, where every other shop now stands empty, it’s a sad sight and a far cry from the bustling civic centre it once was. The COVID-19 pandemic and successive lockdowns have had a devastating impact on our town centres. But they’ve only accelerated what has been
Photo: Haslingden Old and New (2008)
News
£1.8million for Haslingden’s high street regeneration project
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has contributed over £1.8m to support the regeneration of a historic Lancashire town centre.
Blogs
Green Future: finding out what nature means to Coventry
Amanda Roberts tells us how arts, culture and collaboration can create new opportunities to connect with nature.
News
£2.3million for Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme
Thanks to National Lottery players, an ambitious five-year project will provide a brighter future for the Tamar Valley and its communities.
Wednesbury High Street Heritage Action Zone.
Lee Allen
News
£3million National Lottery investment to bring culture to the high street
High Street Heritage Action Zones cultural programme will enhance 68 English high streets through art, sound and film.
Blogs
Valuing the invaluable: a parks for all fund
The value of our parks has become acutely felt during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated lockdowns. When being outside was restricted to just one hour a day, town and city parks became the go-to place for many. Even after the strictest lockdown measures were lifted, parks became a
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.
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