New funding awarded to help bring Dunfermline’s disused historic buildings back to life

Published 12th December 2023

Fife Historic Buildings Trust is being empowered to take on and transform at-risk high street buildings in Dunfermline – benefitting from a share of a new £5 million fund empowering communities to breathe new life into disused and at-risk historic buildings.

The money will help the charity work with partners and stakeholders in Dunfermline to find new uses for the city’s at risk historic buildings and to capitalise on the social, economic and environmental opportunities of Dunfermline’s city status. Fife Historic Buildings Trust’s mission is to create viable futures for heritage buildings and their communities by inspiring and enabling visionary conservation projects across Fife. Since 1997 it has helped deliver over £40m in historic environment regeneration projects in Fife – including its recent work on the conservation repair of St Margaret’s House in Dunfermline city centre.

The funding is being awarded as part of a new partnership between the National Lottery Heritage Fund and charity the Architectural Heritage Fund, to expand the Architectural Heritage Fund’s Heritage Development Trust model across the UK. It follows the success of a pilot programme which supported seven social enterprises and charities in England to repair, restore and reuse at-risk high street and town centre buildings in their local areas. 

All 12 new Heritage Development Trusts will each receive a package of funding to help them scale up their operations to acquire and redevelop a pipeline of local historic buildings. They can also apply for grants to support early project development, and will be given guidance from consultants and mentors to develop their skills and knowledge alongside peer-to-peer support to expand their reach and influence. 

Lorraine Bell, Manager of Fife Historic Buildings Trust, said: “We are thrilled to have this support from the Architectural Heritage Fund, and to be part of the Heritage Development Trust programme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This award will bring additional capacity and expertise over the next three years to ensure the potential of Dunfermline’s built heritage is maximised as part of the city’s exciting plans for the future. We look forward to working with partners and stakeholders on a range of projects in Dunfermline.”

Arts & Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “Through its Heritage Development Trusts, the Architectural Heritage Fund has helped to breathe new life into old buildings across England, creating new jobs, homes, and opportunities.

“I am delighted that this new partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund will take the scheme nationwide, making a difference to people and communities across the UK.

“I look forward to seeing how these 12 new projects develop and the difference they make to people’s lives – now and long into the future.”

Matthew Mckeague, Chief Executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has a lot to offer the future of the UK’s places and people. Bringing old buildings back into productive use will protect our country’s rich architectural past while creating important new homes, workplaces and community and cultural venues. We’ve already seen the many benefits this work can bring to communities across the country, including through the success of our first Heritage Development Trusts across England.

“Our partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund is an important commitment to continuing this work in 12 more areas of the UK by giving more people the funding they need to work together to save and restore their most historic and at-risk local buildings. We’re very grateful to the Heritage Fund for this partnership, and to National Lottery players for making it possible.”

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “As the UK’s largest funder of heritage, we collaborate with organisations which share our vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.

“I am delighted that our £5 million grant funding is supporting the expansion of the Heritage Development Trust programme across the UK – stretching from Medway to Glasgow. This partnership with the Architectural Heritage Fund is supporting communities, charities and heritage groups in 12 towns and cities, to develop plans for the transformation of at-risk historic buildings – boosting pride in place, connection to the past and investing in the future.

“Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6 billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players, and this programme is one of the ways we can support projects of all sizes across the UK to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.”

Organisations which have already benefited from Heritage Development Trust funding include not-for-profit Valley Heritage in Bacup, Lancashire which last year restored an empty Victorian bank building into a new co-working space and housing for homeless young people. Meanwhile, in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust has transformed a row of Georgian merchants’ houses once threatened with demolition into a vibrant music venue, coffee shop and bar.

The 12 organisations receiving the new funding as part of the Heritage Development Trust programme are:

• Culture Trust Luton in Luton, Bedfordshire
• Glasgow Building Preservation Trust in Glasgow

• Haverfordwest Heritage Ltd in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire

• Heeley Trust in Heeley and Meersbrook, Sheffield

• Fife Historic Buildings Trust, working in Dunfermline, Fife

• Galeri Caernarfon Cyf in Caernarfon, Gwynedd

• Inner City Trust in Derry/Londonderry

• Leicester City Council in Leicester.

• Medway Council, working in Chatham and Rochester, Medway

• North East Scotland Preservation Trust in Portsoy, Aberdeenshire

• Redruth Revival CIC in Redruth, Cornwall

• Re-form Heritage in Stoke-on-Trent