Historic Environment Support Fund

Historic Environment Scotland is the lead public body established to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment.

Historic Environment Support Fund is a small fund used to provide support for one-off heritage events, small projects and training activities. This is used to support various one-off, heritage-related projects such as: -grants for training in traditional skills -payment for travel and study costs associated with the use of traditional materials -production of heritage publications -support for community outreach -grants to owners of historic traditional thatched properties to help towards the cost of maintaining roof structures. However, for thatched properties in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Highlands and Islands areas you should apply to your local authority direct. -grants to owners of properties included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes for the preparation of landscape management plans to explore the history and development of a site, help plan for the future or manage change appropriately. -grants to owners of historic properties of outstanding architectural or historic interest for the preparation of maintenance plans in order to reduce the need for costly repairs.

Grants are offered to help protect and promote the historic environment, and to train people in skills needed in this area. Our grants are in high demand, so we can’t always give a grant to every eligible project.

When making grant decisions, we also consider the extent to which a project will: -deliver benefits for communities -promote public access -promote quality -develop knowledge and skills -build capacity for local heritage management

Individuals and organisations can apply for financial help with projects and works that benefit the historic environment.

Please note that all applicants are now required to submit a brief expression of interest form before making an application to any of our grant programmes.

All sorts of projects receive help from the Historic Environment Support Fund, to qualify for consideration a project must: -Meet as many of Historic Environment Scotland’s outcomes as possible. -be non-recurring. -in the case of Thatching, Landscape Management Plans and Maintenance plans we would expect you to be the owner of the property or long term leasee.

Assessment of applications is a competitive process that also takes account of any wider benefits that the project may provide and applications must meet as many of Historic Environment Scotland’s outcomes as possible. We consider all qualifying applications three times a year – at the end of March, July and November. We let applicants know of our decision as soon as possible after the batch closing dates.

If you are interested in applying for a grant from HES, you will need to submit an expression of interest first to receive feedback on your proposal. You can submit an expression of interest form at any time, and we aim to respond within 10 working days. We recommend you do not start work on your application form until you’ve received a response to your expression of interest.