£100 million made available for public parks over three years

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and BIG Lottery Fund (Big) are to provide £100 million in grants for public parks over the next three years.

The Parks for People programme is designed to encourage more people to get involved in the management of their local part. The new funding will, for the first time, include projects that conserve historic cemeteries.

Parks for People is for projects related to historic parks and cemeteries in the UK. You can apply for a grant from £100,000 to £5million.

Parks for people projects need to contribute towards the ten outcomes listed below.
Outcomes for heritage:
With investment, heritage will be:
• better managed
• in better condition
• better interpreted and explained
• identified/recorded

Outcomes for people:
With investment, people will have:
• developed skills
• learnt about heritage
• volunteered time

Outcomes for communities:
With investment:
• your local area/community will be a better place to live, work or visit
• environmental impacts will be reduced
• more people and a wider range of people will have engaged with heritage.

Who can apply?
Projects which promote benefits for the public and which are not mainly for private gain will be funded.
• Applications are welcomed from single organisations and partnerships. Priority is given to not-for-profit organisations and partnerships
• If private owners are involved, it is expected that the public benefit will be greater than any private gain

Application process
Parks for People applications go through a two-round process.

Deadlines:
• 28 February for a decision in June 
• 31 August for a decision in December

For further information and to apply: www.hlf.org.uk/HowToApply/programmes/Pages/ParksforPeople.aspx