Historic England is offering 21 grants of up to £15,000 for community groups, charities, community interest companies, and local authorities across England to deliver projects and activities that help local communities to use local heritage to build community confidence, strengthen local identity, develop relationships and influence decisions about neighbourhoods.
The Neighbourhood Heritage Grants Programme will support projects that help communities identify stories connected to local places, buildings and sites, then inform planning, regeneration or other neighbourhood priorities.
Proposed projects must be co-created with underrepresented communities, including:
- Communities experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.
- Communities who are less likely to participate in heritage activity.
- Minority ethnic communities.
- Disabled people.
- Neurodivergent people.
- LGBTQ+ communities.
- Communities experiencing barriers to participation in local planning, regeneration, or civic processes.
The proposed project must also be in an IMD 1–3 area in England. This means they must be in one of the following deciles:
- Decile 1: Among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.
- Decile 2: Among the 10–20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.
- Decile 3: Among the 20–30% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.
Funding projects should use local heritage as a starting point for community discussion, learning and action about an area’s future. Projects may include community mapping, local research, creative activity, oral histories, workshops or heritage audits.
Heritage assets do not need to be listed by Historic England, but buildings, places and sites must have local significance. Projects should be completed by 11 August 2028.
The deadline for applications is 27 November 2026.
Apply for Neighbourhood Heritage: Grants for Communities | Historic England