The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is delighted to share a report which demonstrates the impact of its Heritage Transformed in Wales and Northern Ireland programme 2020-23. Heritage Transformed was made possible thanks to the generous support of our funding partners, The Pilgrim Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Cadw and the Department for Communities. The programme was designed to offer advice, guidance and grants to communities throughout Wales and Northern Ireland to save and find sustainable uses for historic buildings they love.
In the three years since the programme launched in April 2020, the AHF has made 124 grant offers to 94 heritage building projects, totalling over £1.7m. Despite the significant impact of COVID during the three years, the report shows the importance of historic buildings in addressing the needs of communities across Wales and Northern Ireland.
Rita Harkin, Support Officer in Northern Ireland, said:
“It has been exciting to see the programme grow and a rich range of projects come forward led by grassroots organisations which are beginning to transform the fortunes of the cores of our villages, towns and cities. The funding from our partners is enabling the regeneration of historic assets which have often been abandoned for decades and creating more resilient connected communities.”
Adam Hitchings, Development Manager for Wales, added:
“I’m really pleased to see how this programme developed over the three years in spite of all the challenges presented by the pandemic. It’s particularly pleasing to enter into a strategic funding partnership with Welsh Government, Cadw. This enabled us to provide support to more communities throughout Cymru | Wales and is continuing into the future. Diolch yn fawr!”
Read the full report here.
