Westmeath County Council together with the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht Affairs have given the start of the application period for the ‘Historic Structures Fund’ and ‘Built Heritage Investment Scheme’. This is in response to the announcement of the Investing in our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018-2027 by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht In April 2018, which previews a €1.2bn capital investment in culture and heritage.
The capital funding for built heritage under this plan will run from 2018-2027 and is focused on enhancing and safeguarding the built heritage throughout the country which consists of almost fifty thousand protected structures, many of which in great need of funding.
The primary focus of the Historic Structures Fund is on conservation and enhancement of historic structures and buildings for the benefit of communities and the public. It therefore aims to:
- enable larger scale conservation works to be carried out on heritage structures which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support;
- encourage the regeneration and reuse of heritage properties and to help to secure the preservation of protected structures and/or historic-culturally significant assets;
- support the investment of private capital in labour-intensive projects to conserve historic structures in public and private ownership for community use.
Completed applications for both Historic Structure Fund and Built Heritage Investment Scheme are to be delivered to the Planning Department of Westmeath County Council or e-mailed to planning@westmeathcoco.ie
Applications are expected by the 31st January 2019.