The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced £14.8m in new funding for seven industrial heritage sites across the UK.

In England the projects include the Old Town Hall in the Isles of Scilly which has been awarded £4.6m to reopen as a museum and cultural centre to share the unique culture, rich history, and diverse ecology of the Isles.

A £3.5m project developed by University of Kent in partnership with Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and Medway Council, will restore and regenerate the Grade II listed Police Section House of the former Royal Dockyard Chatham. The venue will host artists and creatives, as well as students, the local community, industry, and academics to experiment with new technology and present their new work.

The Pioneering Sailing Trust in Essex has been awarded £2.3m to develop training facilities and deliver a new apprenticeship scheme. Jinnie, an historic oyster skiff, will be restored and equipped with an electric engine to pass on skills in caring for maritime heritage to the next generation.

Lighting Up the Lea project in Cody Dock, Newham, London, has been awarded £1.6m to restore a Thames Ironworks-made historic vessel, construct a new heritage centre, and develop three years of heritage activities and opportunities.

In Scotland, £1.6m has been committed to enable a former tobacco pipe factory in Glasgow to open as a cultural centre in the 100-year old Barras market. In Fife, The Cellardyke Trust have been awarded development funding of £84K to develop plans to rebuild a 1937 herring fishing boat, Manx Beauty, to become a working community asset.

In Northern Ireland, the Saintfield Community Heritage Park in County Down has been awarded £903,771 to create the area’s first free-to-access park and stabilise remnants of the village’s thriving 18th and 19th century industrial past which includes a windmill tower.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said that “What unites these projects is recognition of the heritage value of our industrial past, the incredible stories to be told and committed people.”

For more details on all seven projects follow this link: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/news/ps148million-awarded-projects-forging-future-our-industrial-past