On November 18, 2020 in Ireland, Malcolm Noonan TD, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, launched the Built Heritage Investment Scheme and the Historic Structures Fund for 2021.
With €6 million in funding across both programs, they represent a significant boost to the restoration, reuse and preservation of Ireland’s built heritage. It is expected the programs will support hundreds of projects while also creating over 30,000 days of employment.
The Built Heritage Investment Scheme and the Historic Structures Fund will support the owners and custodians of protected structures in every local authority area across the country in 2021.
Together, both programs will assist hundreds of small-scale, labor-intensive projects as well as larger-scale projects to repair and conserve our historic built environment. The projects will also give significant support to local jobs in conservation, traditional skills and construction, providing a vital boost to local economies during challenging times a cumulative total of some 30,000 days of employment will be generated.
The 2021 Historic Structures Fund will also include two new pilot streams: one for vernacular structures and another for historic shopfronts.
The funding announced by Minister Noonan includes a total of €3 million for the Built Heritage Investment Scheme—an increase of 20% from last year—and €3 million for the Historic Structures Fund – which is an increase of over 75% from HSF 2020.
Apply by January 29, 2021.
Featured photo (by papagnoc from Pixabay) shows the historic Ha’penny Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin.