FUNDING: Local Arts, Culture and Heritage

Grants of between £500,000 and £1.5 million are available from the Great Place Scheme, a £15 million pilot programme set up by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England. The Scheme will enable 12 places across England, including four rural areas, to put arts, culture and heritage at the heart of the future vision for their area. The scheme aims to enable cultural and heritage organisations to make a step-change in how they work together, and with other organisations in other sectors, so that arts, culture and heritage contribute more to meeting local social and economic objectives.

The Great Place Scheme is inviting you to think creatively about the areas that you could serve. This might be across more than one district council area, a county-wide approach, or the relationship between an urban area and those living in its rural hinterland. Boundaries need not be contiguous. You will need to determine the scale and the geographic boundaries of the ‘place’ where your project will be delivered. You should make a case in your application as to why the geography you have chosen is relevant and meaningful in the light of the ambitions of the Great Place Scheme. The scale of a place should be defined using local authority boundaries but could be:

• a city-region;
• a combined authority;
• a single local authority area – unitary, lower or upper tier
• a grouping of local authority areas
• a Local Enterprise Partnership area
• a grouping of civil parish areas

Applications must come from partnerships led by a not-for-profit organisation, and match funding of at least 10% is required. The successful places will be able to access investment for up to three years, as well as advice and guidance from the national development agencies and National Lottery funders for arts, culture and heritage – Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, and Historic England. The scheme aims to build and develop new partnerships so that the contribution of their sector is recognised within, and supported by, long-term plans and strategies for the area. The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is midday on Thursday 6th October 2016.  The deadline for full applications is Thursday 12th January 2017. You must submit an expression of interest in the first instance. The 12 successful Places in the pilot phase of the Scheme will be announced by the end of March 2017. For more information and how to apply, click here.