HES and the Heritage Fund have joined forces to jointly provide area-based funding, through the new Heritage & Place Programme (H&PP) run by HES to support the regeneration of Scotland’s places, and the Heritage Fund’s Thriving Place commitment to create better places to live, work and visit.

This is the first time that both organisations have jointly encouraged projects to apply for development grants, providing access to a larger pool of resources for heritage projects across the country. This could lead to a total investment of up to £19.8 million in the communities.

The funding will drive regeneration plans in eight communities. This includes Govan where Glasgow City Council plan to regenerate significant aspects of the local Conservation Area, and Buckhaven, where Fife Council plan to restore the remaining built heritage in the area. Aberdeen City Council are also looking at ways to breathe new life into the east end of Union Street as well as increasing traditional skills training and providing community engagement opportunities, while South Ayrshire Council plan to protect and repair the historic fabric of the townscape of Girvan and stimulate economic regeneration.

This first phase of funding will support the development of high-quality sustainable development plans for the eight areas over the next 12 months, with the potential that HES and Heritage Fund will then award up to £19.8 million jointly to deliver the projects in the coming years.

Susan O’Connor, Head of Grants at HES, said: “We are delighted to announce £863,050 to support the regeneration of eight heritage areas in Scotland. This is the first time that HES and the Heritage Fund have coordinated our funding in this way, and by working together, we are able to create an even bigger impact for communities across the country.

“Heritage-led regeneration and the reuse of historic buildings is an important catalyst for generating long-term social and economic benefits, and I’m incredibly excited to see the plans develop over the next 12 months to help contribute to a vibrant and sustainable future for each of these eight places.”

Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund director for Scotland, added: “Heritage sits at the heart of a place’s identity, adding depth, character and value. It helps connect people and communities to a place and boosts local economic prosperity.

“The funding we are announcing today, thanks to National Lottery players, will help revitalise eight communities across Scotland leading to potential investment of up to £19.8 million. Our aim is to help drive heritage and community focused regeneration, helping local people to deliver long-term, sustainable improvements.

“By working jointly with HES we have been able to double the support offered to these communities, so that whether these initiatives are focusing on a small coastal town or a post-industrial city centre, each place can approach its regeneration with ambition, imagination and heritage at its heart”

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson commented: “Scotland is internationally renowned for the quality and diversity of its historic environment which plays an important role in shaping all of our lives.

“This joint community-focused funding initiative will deliver positive and lasting change to Scotland’s places as well as raise awareness around the importance of sustainability.

“If we are to be successful in our transition to net-zero we must encourage more restoring and repurposing of heritage assets to ensure our historic environment is protected for the benefit of future generations.”

The full list of projects awarded joint funding are:

• Buckhaven, Fife Council: £170,000
• Girvan, South Ayrshire Council: £170,000
• Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Council: £150,000
• Govan, Glasgow City Council: £87,900
• Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Council: £86,350
• Tarbert, Argyll & Bute Council: £80,000
• Forres, Moray Council: £66,000
• Granton Waterfront, The City of Edinburgh Council: £52,800

In response to receiving funding to invest in Buckhaven’s historic buildings and streets, Councillor Colin Davidson, convener of Fife Council’s Levenmouth Area Committee, said: “This new project could be the best thing to happen to this area in the last 50 years – it’s a very exciting project.

“There’s huge incentive for us to work together with the local community to regenerate the whole of Buckhaven and I can’t wait to see what’s planned.”

Commenting on the funding allocated to protect and enhance Granton Waterfront’s heritage, City of Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day, added: “We’ve ambitious plans to make Granton Waterfront a new sustainable coastal town for Edinburgh. In keeping with our plans for the whole city we’re creating a £1.3bn 20 minute neighbourhood with 3,500 net zero homes, a new primary school, cultural and retail offering and lots of green and open spaces.

“We want to make sure people can get around and access other parts of the city easily so we’re putting in active travel routes and improving transport links as well. You can see work has started to make the iconic Granton Gasholder a multi-functional public space and hundreds of the sustainable affordable homes we’ve planned at Western Villages and behind the Granton Gasworks railway station building are well underway.

“As part of this project we have strong community support to protect the heritage of the area and bring its listed buildings back to life for local people and visitors to use and enjoy. The funding announced today will help us to develop our plans to secure future funding to make this happen.

“This project along with the refurbishment of the Gasholder demonstrates the Council’s commitment to celebrate the historical legacy of the area making sure that its heritage is revitalised for future generations to come.”