Over €4.3m Awarded across the country under the 2020 Historic Structures Fund and Built Heritage Investment Scheme

The Minister for Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, TD, has announced that 449 heritage projects across every county in the country will benefit from a combined sum of over €4.3m under this year’s Historic Structures Fund (HSF) and Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS). This funding will support the owners and custodians of historic and protected structures as they carry out hundreds of small-scale, labour-intensive projects to repair and safeguard our built heritage. “These schemes,” the Minister said, “are being released as we move through phase 2 of reopening our economy. I believe that they have the potential to provide some much-needed economic stimulus right across the country in all local authority areas and will provide employment for the many small businesses, skilled conservation specialists and tradespeople involved in heritage-related construction activity”. “These schemes will play an essential role in helping communities to regenerate the areas where they live and work, and, indeed, to protect our built heritage as part of our generation’s legacy for the future.” 

Under this year’s Historic Structures Fund (HSF), 56 projects will be funded, with grants ranging from €15,000 to €130,000 for the conservation and renovation of many different types of historic structures throughout the country. In the County of Cork four excellent projects are being supported to the sum of €171,000, which are Egmont Hall in Kanturk; Church of the Ascension in Timoleague; Myrtle Grove in Youghal and St. George’s Arts and Heritage Centre in Mitchelstown (funding for St. George’s is being provided over 2 years).

Nationally, the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) will support 393 projects in 31 local authority areas. Grants ranging from €1,000 to €15,000 will be provided and the scheme will generate several thousand days’ employment for skilled craftspeople. In the case of County Cork, ten projects will see investment under the scheme to the sum of €79,000, with some of the examples including the former Christ Church in Rathcormac; St John the Baptist Church in Midleton; Glenville Park House and Charleville Community Hall. Also included under the BHIS 2020 is a pilot micro-grant stream to increase the resilience of historic structures to withstand the constant effects of climate change. This will allow local authorities to make smaller awards to owners of historic properties to carry out routine maintenance to offset the impact of climate change on their buildings.

 These grant schemes have the potential to offer confidence to communities across the country, provide a stimulus to the economy and help to maintain incomes and in the case of County Cork, the combined investment across both schemes of €250,000 is fantastic news.

Speaking of both schemes, Minister Madigan noted: “I would like to thank the local authorities for their assistance in administering these schemes. I would also like to acknowledge the response of private owners and their willingness to invest their time and money in caring for our built heritage. I am delighted to be able to continue investing in our built heritage.”