A new £62 million fund has been announced by Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright. The fund will support heritage in high streets. The funding includes:
- £44 million of government and Historic England funding to create dozens of High Streets Heritage Action Zones overseen by Historic England. From today, local authorities can apply to the scheme, which will give councils, businesses and community groups access to expert advice and investment to bring historic buildings back into use and support historic high streets to adapt to the challenges they face.
- £3 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support a cultural programme to engage people in the life and history of their high streets.
- £15 million for the Architectural Heritage Fund to support social enterprise organisations like Historic Coventry Trust to take ownership of and bring buildings of local importance - such as pubs, libraries or theatres, as well as shops - back into use. The Transforming Places Through Heritage Programme will open for applications in June.