NEWSROUND
HLF launches new Heritage
Enterprise programme
AHSS Chairman, Peter Drummond, was
interviewed by BBC Scotland for a report
marking the centenary of the Ancient
Monument Consolidation and Amendment Act,
which led to the creation of Historic Scotland.
Peter reflected on the value of investing in
modest examples of architectural heritage in
towns and cities and expressed his hope that
several more rounds of conservation area
regeneration funding would be found.
The Gartnavel Chapel, Calman Cancer
Support Centre in Glasgow has been awarded
Best Heritage Project as part of the annual
National Lottery Awards. Gartnavel beat the
likes of the Cutty Sark and Giant’s Causeway
Visitor Centre in a public vote. The restoration
and transformation of JJ Burnet’s 1904 chapel
was led by Glasgow Building Preservation Trust,
and the new centre provides complementary
therapies and counselling, delivered for free to
cancer out-patients, their family and friends.
80 buildings along Scotland’s canals will be
assessed to see whether they are suitable for
listing. The project, led by Historic Scotland and
Scottish Canals, will also review 40 listed buildings
owned by Scottish Canals, and present their
finding in a joint publication. Read the Historic
Scotland update later in the magazine for more
information.
The historic Briggait was restored,
upgraded and reintroduced as a key
arts venue in Glasgow, with the help
of Heritage Lottery Funding.
For some years, the Heritage Lottery Fund
has been one of the biggest spenders in
the UK on regeneration, primarily through
our Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI).
Indeed, THI has been extremely popular
and successful in Scotland, with some 35
schemes completed, in implementation or
just awarded, and stretching from
Stromness to Wigtown.
To complement the THI programme,
we have introduced a new scheme called
Heritage Enterprise (HE). This is aimed at
assisting community organisations to bring
life and activity back into neglected
historic buildings and sites, and to unlock
their economic potential. The focus has to
be on generating real economic benefit –
income or jobs or both – and, unlike the
THI scheme, HE can tackle a single
building or group of buildings. Applications
will compete in budget terms with
Heritage Grants applications, and awards
are available from £100,000 right up to
£5m.
We at HLF are convinced there is a
need for this. We recently published a
piece of new research titled ‘New Ideas
Need Old Buildings’, which demonstrated
that commercial businesses based in
historic buildings in our towns and cities
are more productive and generate more
wealth than the average for all
commercial businesses across the whole
economy.
Through Heritage Enterprise, you can
breathe new life into historic sites by
repairing, adapting and giving them a )