Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, TD, today announced that 85 heritage projects right across the country will benefit from a total of €3m under this year’s Historic Structures Fund (HSF).
In addition to supporting owners and custodians of historic and protected structures to safeguard and maintain their properties, this funding will also provide a welcome boost to local construction and heritage trades by facilitating works with a total value of almost €9m and leveraging an estimated 13,000 days’ labour.
The announcement follows that of €3m in funding under the Department’s other built heritage grant scheme, the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, by Minister Noonan earlier this month and comes as the phased return of construction works gets underway. All funded works under both schemes must, of course, be carried out in full compliance with Government/HSE guidance on Covid-19.
Minister Noonan said“I am delighted to announce another €3m investment in our built heritage. This year’s Historic Structures Fund will assist 85 owners and custodians of historic and protected structures across the country as they carry out a range of conservation projects to repair and safeguard our built heritage and supporting local employment of skilled conservation workers and tradespeople.”
Through grants of between €15,000 and €200,000, the HSF assists owners of heritage structures – including those on the local authorities’ Record of Protected Structures and those in Architectural Conservation Areas – to meet their obligations to care for their properties. The scheme provides assistance to a wide range of heritage structures – this year’s HSF includes awards to historic bridges, barns, courthouses, churches, shopfronts and a dry stone wall as well as to private houses. Also included under the HSF 2021 are two pilot streams, one for the conservation of vernacular buildings and another for the conservation of historic shopfronts.