Piece Hall received £250,000 from National Lottery Heritage fund to cover staff costs and re-open

The funding will aid the safeguarding and preservation of the area’s heritage in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

The Heritage Emergency Fund was set up at speed in late April in recognition of the fact that the UK’s heritage would need significant help to survive the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Since then 197 grants have been awarded in the North of England to cover costs including core staff, essential maintenance and utility costs and safe reopening, saving swathes of organisations from permanent closure.

The fund closed at the end of July, with final grants awarded last week.

The Piece Hall in Halifax received £250,000 to cover staff and fixed costs and enabled them to gradually reopen following lockdown.

David Renwick, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage across the North of England has faced a challenge like never seen before during this coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

"As a funder, we knew that those dedicated to safeguarding and preserving our all-important heritage would need significant support, and we worked incredibly hard and against the clock to refocus our funding programme and get grants out the door.

"We are extremely proud that our funding has been able to support such a diverse portfolio of organisations and groups to weather the crisis and continue their work at this difficult time. We are keen to understand more about what support heritage organisations in the North need as we hopefully move into recovery.

"Sadly, we cannot save everyone and we know challenges still exist for many and that obstacles still lie ahead, we are grateful that thanks to National Lottery players we have been able to support so many.”

Grants were awarded across the full breadth of heritage, from historic sites, industrial and maritime heritage, museums, libraries and archives to parks and gardens and landscapes and nature.

They also went to charities supporting vulnerable and marginalised communities, and organisations exploring and supporting the UK’s cultural heritage.

Many green spaces such as nature reserves and parks stayed open during lockdown and grants were used to help keep wardens working, care for livestock and native species, maintain paths and landscapes and deal with litter.

Funding was also used to help many museums and historic houses to care for their collections and buildings while they were closed, as well as enable a number of them to safely reopen as restrictions lifted.

The highest proportion of Heritage Emergency Fund grants in the North of England went towards supporting organisations that explore our cultural heritage such as memories, skills, customs and traditions intrinsic to their place of origin (35%), followed by those that manage historic buildings and monuments (25%), , and those who care for our museums, libraries and archives (16%).

The National Lottery Heritage Fund continues to offer support for heritage organisations affected by the crisis across the UK, through continued support for 2,500 projects where funding of £1.1bn is already committed, and an additional £1.2m investment in the Digital Skills for Heritage initiative to help the sector through the crisis and beyond, producing guides and delivering webinars to support organisations pivoting to digital – many for the first time.