£43.4m Lottery Heritage Fund Boost to Support Traditional Skills and Community Projects Across the UK

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced a £43.4 million investment across 16 projects, each aimed at preserving local heritage and developing community skills.

The grants, awarded following six committee meetings held in March, are designed to strengthen heritage organisations while improving inclusion, access, and participation, aligning with the Heritage 2033 strategy.

One of the beneficiaries is Scottish Canals, which has been awarded £3.7 million to establish a traditional skills centre at Lock 16 in Falkirk. The new centre will act as a hub for training in heritage construction techniques such as stonemasonry, helping to “address the decline in these trades and preserve canal infrastructure”.

In Great Yarmouth, the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust has received £2.4 million to restore the historic Iron Duke pub. Alongside the restoration, the Trust will deliver a series of community-focused workshops covering “traditional crafts, historic research, food heritage and the arts”.

Also of note, Ashburton Park in Croydon has been awarded £1.6 million to support the development of a new Oasis Youth Hub as well as community-led local history and environmental projects.

In South Wales, a £4.7 million grant will fund the restoration of Tylorstown Welfare Hall, the last surviving miners’ welfare hall in Rhondda Cynon Taff. The project intends to “revive the building’s role as a community hub while celebrating its social and cultural roots”.

This latest funding round comes shortly after the Heritage Fund marked a significant milestone—£1 billion invested in Scotland over the past three decades.