From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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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).
Announcing the funding today, 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. I am particularly pleased to announce the awards to vernacular structures and historic shopfronts made under the two pilots streams introduced this year. These awards celebrate the richness and diversity of our built heritage and help to preserve our connections to past generations, in particular through their support of traditional building skills, which this Government is committed to investing in.
I can also announce that I am reopening the applications for funding for Irish Language shopfronts and will publish further details in the coming days.”
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.
Commenting on the announcement, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD, said:
“I am equally delighted to be announcing today, along with my colleague Minister Noonan, this investment of €3m across a range of projects, nationwide, under the Historic Structures Fund. These schemes help to safeguard our rich built heritage, keeping many buildings in use and helping to bring many others back into use. The awards announced today also have a welcome knock-on economic benefit by generating employment for heritage contractors and other skilled crafts and tradespeople across the country.”
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.
The vernacular pilot stream has been introduced in the context of the Department’s forthcoming Vernacular Strategy. Vernacular structures are the buildings and other built features of the informal or vernacular landscape, conceived and built by ordinary people, as opposed to those in authority. Vernacular builders used ideas and techniques passed down within the family and local community, making the vernacular a significant part of our intangible cultural heritage. Following assessment, six vernacular structures – including a dry stone wall and a number of cottages – will receive grant aid through the HSF this year.
The introduction of the shopfront pilot stream gives recognition to traditional shopfronts as a rich part of our built environment and historic townscapes. Under this stream, owners were invited to apply for funding to support works including the repair of historic shutters or awnings, signage, gates tiled or mosaic threshold panels and hanging signs as well as the removal of unsightly and redundant later additions such as cabling, lighting and signage. Following assessment, five shopfronts – including iconic pharmacies, Price’s Medical Hall on Dublin’s Clare Street and DW Parke on Gladstone Street, Clonmel – will receive grant aid through the HSF this year.
Nine larger projects awarded funding over two years under HSF 2020 will also be funded out of this year’s €3m allocation.
Minister of State for Local Government, Peter Burke, TD, also welcomed the announcement, stating:
“As with the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, the success of the Historic Structures Fund is a result of the close working relationship between the Department and the Local Authorities, particularly the Architectural Conservation Officers, Heritage Officers and planning and administrative staff who make these schemes possible. I am particularly pleased to note the introduction of a stream for historic shopfronts, investing in our historic townscapes in line with this Government’s commitment of putting Town Centres First.”
Historic Structures Fund 2021: List of Grant Recipients
Historic Structures Fund 2021: List of Grant Recipients
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