Grants to revitalise high streets

The Architectural Heritage Fund is providing grants for projects in England that aim to revitalise local high streets, as part of £15 million funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The programme "Transforming Places through Heritage" aims to have local groups, social enterprises and charities create new uses for historical buildings that would otherwise be left underused or neglected.

CEO of the Architectual Heritage Fund, Matthew Mckeague, commented:

"The high street has been buffeted over many years from the forces of online shopping, rising costs and most recently the impact of Covid-19. But we believe there is an opportunity to rethink their role radically. Part of this is finding imaginative new uses for old or historic spaces that help revitalise town centres and build fresh connections within communities.

"There has never been a more important time for projects like this. They give a glimpse of what our future high streets could look like, for example, providing new kinds of flexible workspaces in local communities. In this latest round we were particularly looking for projects which take account of the emerging needs of communities post-pandemic, and all these projects respond to identified needs within the communities that will assist the recovery."

The six awards given include:

• £25,000 for a crowdfunding campaign for the Morecambe Winter Gardens, which used to be Albert Hall of the North;
• £68,000 for a community enterprise hub with creative studios, a learning centre, and shared workspace, which used to be Centenary House a former department store in Morecambe West End's High Street;
• £62,475 for a community-owned training hotel with an arts focus, which used to be a former coaching inn and landmark heritage site in Devon;
• £15,000 for co-working space, repurposed from the Church of St John the Evangelist in Lancaster;
• £74,732 for a community hub with multiple uses, which used to be the Old Bank in Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire;
• £22,500 for a youth centre which will be used for young people with autism or Down's Syndrome.

The latest round of Transforming Places through Heritage Grants has just closed last month.