Architectural Heritage Fund: Project Viability & Project Development Grants

Overview

The AHF currently has two grant programmes open in Northern Ireland, through which it can provide grants to help with assessing the viability of a project, or to help fund development costs.

Harnessing Heritage

Made possible with support from the Department for Communities’ Historic Environment Division and the Garfield Weston Foundation, Harnessing Heritage in Northern Ireland provides advice and early-stage grant funding to heritage and community-led regeneration projects.

• Project Viability Grants of up to £10,000 are available to test early-stage plans for re-using a historic building.
• Project Development Grants of up to £20,000 are also available to further develop a project to the point of capital delivery.

In general, your project will be eligible if all of the following apply:

• your project involves an historic building, which they define as:
  • Listed - Category A, B+, B1 or B2
  • unlisted but in a Conservation Area and/or
  • highly valued by the local community for its demonstrable historic interest;
• your project involves a change of primary use and/or a change of ownership;
• your project is being led by a not-for-private-profit organisation

Village Catalyst

Village Catalyst is an innovative partnership programme between the Department for Communities (DfC), the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the NI Housing Executive, and the AHF itself.

Applications are invited from charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit groups in rural villages of less than 5,000 people who want to tackle rural poverty and social isolation in their area by developing a sustainable use for a disused historic building.

• Through the programme, the AHF can provide Project Viability Grants of up to £10,000 to test early-stage plans for re-using a historic building (listed or in a conservation area).

In general, your project will be eligible if all of the following apply:

• your project involves an historic building, which they define as:
  • Listed - Category A, B+, B1 or B2
  • unlisted but in a Conservation Area and/or
  • highly valued by the local community for its demonstrable historic interest;
• your project involves a change of primary use and/or a change of ownership;
• your project is being led by a not-for-private-profit organisation

Applications of up to £7,500 in Northern Ireland, can be submitted at any time. You will normally get a decision in 6 to 8 weeks and these applications are assessed at our monthly Grants Decision Meetings. The quarterly Grants Panel considers applications of more than £7,500 in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, Project Viability Grants for up to £10,000 and Project Development Grants for up to £20,000 can currently be made, with a focus on villages, and will be assessed on a monthly basis.