GrantRadar

Architectural Heritage Fund

Heritage Revival Fund

Grants from the Architectural Heritage Fund, with DCMS and Historic England, to help charities and social enterprises in England take ownership of and/or adapt neglected historic buildings for community use, focusing on town centres and deprived areas. Support runs from the earliest stages to capital works: Project Viability Grants (up to £20,000), Project Development Grants (up to £100,000) and Capital Grants (up to £500,000, up to 80% of costs). Applications start with an expression of interest at any time; the programme runs to March 2030.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£5,000 – £500,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Not-for-private-profit organisations and the lowest tier of local government in England: charitable incorporated organisations, charitable companies limited by guarantee, (charitable) community benefit societies, not-for-private-profit companies limited by guarantee, CICs limited by guarantee (with activities aligned to charitable purposes), co-operatives, and parish and town councils
  • Unincorporated charities/organisations that intend to incorporate can apply for Project Viability Grants only
  • Independent secular organisations taking over a place of worship that will keep some religious use (less than half) are eligible, but only governance and legal costs are funded until ownership or a long lease is confirmed
  • You need at least three trustees or directors (not related to each other if only three)
  • The project must involve a change of use or ownership, and you must own or be acquiring the freehold or a long lease (usually 25+ years)
  • Priority for town-centre buildings and deprived areas; a small number of exceptional projects elsewhere may be funded

What it funds

  • Projects that involve a change of use and/or change of ownership of a historic building in England (nationally listed, locally listed, in a conservation area, or of demonstrable historic interest valued by the community), led by a not-for-private-profit organisation that owns or will acquire the freehold or a long lease (usually at least 25 years)
  • Project Viability Grants (up to £20,000) for early-stage work such as viability and options appraisals, condition and use studies
  • Project Development Grants (up to £100,000) for developing the project towards a start on site: business plans, surveys, design to RIBA 4, legal and governance work, fundraising plans and project management
  • Capital Grants (up to £500,000, max 80% of capital costs, RIBA stages 5-6) for repair and conservation work, associated professional fees and works to enable meanwhile use or change of use; project staff costs and overheads up to 20% of the request
  • Priorities:
  • Town-centre regeneration with clear social and economic impact
  • The most deprived areas (at least 50% of grants go to the top 30% most deprived places)
  • Bringing buildings into community ownership
  • Reusing vacant or at-risk buildings

What it will not fund

  • Private individuals
  • Local authorities and other public bodies other than parish and town councils (unless applying for an organisation still in formation)
  • Universities, colleges and other mainstream educational institutions, including independent schools
  • For-profit companies, unless in a partnership led by a not-for-profit organisation
  • CICs limited by shares
  • Organisations with fewer than three trustees or directors (or three who are related)
  • Limited liability partnerships
  • Buildings to be used as active places of worship, except community-ownership projects where worship will be less than half of the use
  • Work started before a grant decision
  • Repair costs that are not part of a larger scheme to find a new sustainable use
  • Ongoing maintenance costs

How to apply

  1. Use the AHF Funding Finder on ahfund.org.uk to check which Heritage Revival Fund grant fits your project
  2. Submit the short online Expression of Interest (ahfund.org.uk/eoi) about your organisation, the building and your plans; the AHF welcomes a discussion first
  3. If eligible and a good fit, you are invited to submit a full application via an online form (within six months for Capital Grants)
  4. Applications up to £75,000 can be submitted at any time and are decided at monthly Grants Decision Meetings
  5. Applications over £75,000 (including Capital Grants) go to the quarterly Grants Panel; the next submission deadline is 14 December 2026 for a March 2027 decision
  6. If awarded, return the signed Grant Acceptance Form within one month and claim the grant in arrears against evidence of costs

Capital Grant holders must get formal Authorisation to Start before beginning work, and capital grants must be spent within 18 months.

The AHF also offers social investment loans, which are separate from these grants.

Have ready

  • Governing document
  • List of current trustees or directors with brief roles and experience
  • Minute or other record of the board's decision to apply
  • Latest accounts and balance sheet, recent management accounts or certified financial statement
  • Photographs of the building's interior and exterior
  • Proof of ownership or evidence you can acquire the building (e.g. title deeds, Heads of Terms)

For Capital Grants the full application also needs, where relevant: RICS Red Book valuation, condition report or structural survey, RIBA 3/4 drawings, heritage statement and impact assessment, consents, cost plan, fundraising strategy and match-funding schedule, tender documents, business plan, partnership agreement, delivery timetable, risk register and details of professional services.

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