Mukesh Sharma MBE DL

Columnist

Mukesh Sharma, MBE, DL

The National Lottery Heritage Fund

We Need to Connect With Our Past to Build a Better Future

For five years, Mukesh Sharma has been involved in grant giving at The National Lottery Heritage Fund and is now a UK Trustee and Chair of the Northern Ireland Committee. He has seen first-hand the positive impact money raised by players of The National Lottery has made on the UK’s and specifically Northern Ireland’s heritage with 80% of funding decisions made locally under his stewardship.

At The National Lottery Heritage Fund we don’t define heritage – we let those applying for our support do that based on what is important to them. From Northern Ireland’s rich industrial past to its beautiful historic buildings, outstanding natural landscapes and habitats and unique social history, our support is protecting what is loved while transforming people’s lives. Whether it’s multi-million pound funding such as £4.95million for the restoration and reimagining of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens or smaller awards such as the £14,140 we distributed to Mid and East Antrim’s dementia-friendly tourism pilot we are helping protect and preserve our heritage in a way which reaches far beyond the projects themselves. Our investment in heritage, skills, training and nature also has positive effects on wellbeing and volunteering; forging relationships to work for the greater good of an area and importantly, building resilience in heritage organisations.

All for a Good Cause

Since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has invested £252million across Northern Ireland in over 1,500 heritage projects and counting. More recently, the Heritage Fund has been distributing funds on behalf of the Department for Communities to address the impacts of Covid-19 on organisations and individuals working in the heritage sector. This has created 27 new heritage posts. To mark the centenary of Northern Ireland in a thoughtful and inclusive way the Heritage Fund supported 39 projects through the Northern Ireland Office’s Shared History Fund.

A better place to live, work and visit

On a local level, heritage projects can boost the economy and contribute to the area being a better place to live, work and visit. Over the next year we will celebrate the completion of significant heritage projects across Northern Ireland; projects that are bringing new jobs to the area, upskilling the next generation with heritage skills whilst repurposing and reinvigorating at-risk historic buildings for the benefit of the local community and economy. In Bangor, Open House Festival completed the first community asset transfer of a heritage building and received close to £1million lottery funding to transform the original bank and former courthouse into a cultural and arts venue bringing life to the newly named city’s seafront.

Thanks to a £5million award, Belfast City Council is restoring and expanding East Belfast’s historic Templemore Baths. The building’s original features are being preserved, a heritage interpretative centre created, and the extended footprint of the building will be home to modern leisure and spa facilities. A collaborative project between South West College and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council that received £2.3million is restoring the Enniskillen Workhouse Entrance Block, delivering accredited heritage skills training to over 100 local craftspeople and creating 12 apprenticeships. Opening next year, the ground floor incorporates an exhibition and reminiscence space capturing the stories and memories of the workhouse. Upstairs is a state-of-the-art hub for business innovation and enterprise managed by the college.

Heritage can be a catalyst for regeneration

What’s crucial is that the projects we support involve more people in heritage and there is absolutely a place for businesses in heritage projects. Over the years, we’ve invested in the regeneration of the Bishopsgate Hotel in Derry/ Londonderry. We have transformed the drawing offices into today’s Titanic Hotel, Belfast – both bringing visitors into historic spaces, creating employment and a sense of place while also boosting tourism. Our £23.8million commitment to 31 Townscape Heritage Initiatives in places such as Armagh, Portaferry and Lisburn has developed public and private partnerships and investment that breathes new life into the towns’ conservation areas, regenerating buildings into places where businesses can grow and acting as a catalyst for wider regeneration.

Grants from The National Lottery Heritage Fund start from £3,000 with full information available at www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding. For advice on an idea for a heritage project in Northern Ireland contact northernireland@heritagefund.org.uk.