Not-for-profit organisations in the UK have until 31 August to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for grants to support project related to historic parks and cemeteries in the UK.
The funding comes from a joint initiative of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and BIG Lottery Fund (BIG) which announced last October that they were investing £100 million in the Parks for People programme over the next three years. The programme aims to get local people more involved in the management of their parks and for the first time, is providing funding to conserve historic cemeteries. It also offers help and advice about long-term park maintenance.
Public parks are defined as an existing designed urban or rural park, the main purpose of which is providing free access to informal recreation and enjoyment. This includes urban parks, country parks, gardens, squares and seaside promenade gardens. Cemeteries are a burial ground or cemetery that has a formal existing design.
Applicants will need to show that the local community values the park or cemetery as part of their heritage, and that they are already actively involved in its management through, for example, a user group, a friends group or other community group.
Grants of between £100,000 and £5 million are available to support the following:
• The landscape design layout
• Surviving or lost historic features or buildings
• Natural heritage including priority habitats and species
• Archaeological sites, earthworks or features from an earlier phase of design
• Collections of plants, trees, objects or documents
• Cultural traditions such as stories, festivals, fairs and crafts
• People’s memories and experiences of the park or cemetery
• The history associated with individual features such as memorials or veteran trees
For further information and to apply, visit: www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/programmes/Pages/parksforpeople.aspx#.UI0enm8_58M
Deadline: Saturday 31 August 2013 for a decision in December