SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
Railwayworkers Cottages , Rosedale . Photo copyright Richard Burdon
Supporting the long term recovery of UK Heritage
Since 1994 , The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been the largest dedicated grant funder of the UK ’ s heritage . We ’ ve awarded over £ 8.6bn to more than 50,000 projects across the UK , from Shetland to the Scilly Isles . Our work secures heritage for current and future generations – from steam trains to endangered species , from cathedrals to cultural memories , from museums to market towns .
Heritage operates in a changed world from three years ago . The heritage sector faced serious challenges during the pandemic and we responded speedily to distribute £ 50m emergency funding from National Lottery players . As the crisis continued and heritage organisations needed more support , we also worked in partnership with governments to distribute funding on their behalf .
Thankfully , the heritage sector has largely weathered the crisis so far . Many organisations adapted digitally to build online audiences , refocused their activities and looked to new ways of generating income .
Now we are keen to support heritage in its long-term recovery . We regularly consult with the sector to understand their needs , and this valuable insight informs our new ten-year strategy , unveiled in March .
Insights from our regular UK Heritage Pulse surveys include : Long-term survival Confidence in organisations that they will survive beyond six months has increased since the question was last asked in August / September 2022 . 66 per cent of respondents say they are very confident their organisation will survive beyond six months . Only 3 per cent said they were “ not at all confident ” their organisation would survive .
Volunteering Asked about their experience over the past year with recruiting new volunteers , responses from organisations suggest a mixed picture , with 44 per cent saying they had found this challenging . Organisations with higher turnover ( over £ 1m pa ) and those who work with larger numbers of volunteers ( 50 +) have found it slightly less challenging .
Visitor demand Organisations have the same expectation of visitor demand as they did late last summer , with 42 per cent of respondents reporting confidence in the range of one to three out of five and 58 per cent reporting confidence of four or five out of five . Historic buildings & monuments are split almost exactly 50 / 50 on
24 experienceuk . org