Local Heritage Grant Scheme

About the Local Heritage Grant Scheme

Following the success of the initial round of Local Heritage Grant Awards, delivered between 2023 and 2025 with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have secured further funding for a new round of awards between 2026 and 2028.  

The previous grants helped local communities develop and deliver their own heritage projects, building confidence, skills and local pride. This new programme will build on that success by supporting more community-led projects that celebrate and conserve Torbay's unique heritage. 

The theme of the 2026 to 2028 grants, ‘Writers, Artists & Musicians on the English Riviera’, aims to celebrate Torbay’s rich literary, artistic and musical heritage and engage with local people about what makes Torbay special to them.  

Heritage can be a powerful social process in the present, about the past, for the future. The new scheme of awards will enable successful applicants to design and deliver conservation and interpretation interventions across Torbay that will conserve our significant literary, artistic, and musical heritage.  

Local Heritage Grants: Writers, Artists and Musicians on the English Riviera 

We have been awarded a funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for more Local Heritage Grants, with three rounds of £50,000 secured to support community-led and local heritage projects between 2026 and 2028.  

Grants between £500 and £7,000 are available for new projects which celebrate the Bays artistic, literary and musical heritage, and are being delivered in Torbay between May 2026 and January 2028.   

Funding will be awarded in three rounds.  

• Round One: Opens 11 February and closes 30 April 2026 at 5pm (now closed) 
• Round Two: Opens 28 September and closes 11 November 2026 at 5pm  
• Round Three: Opens Spring 2027 (dates to be confirmed). 

Projects need to be delivered by January 2028. 

Key timelines  

• Community Heritage Fund Launch: Wednesday 11 February 2026. 
• Funded projects delivery period: May 2026 to January 2028. 
• End of Grant Report deadline: Monday 31 January 2028. 

How is the project funded?

With funding from the Torbay Heritage Place programme, via the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players! We have successfully secured just under £250,000 of funding for this round of awards which are running between 2026 and 2028.  

Before you apply

Applying for a Local Heritage Grant

How to complete the application form  

Following feedback after round one earlier in the year, we have been working to make the application process easier for local groups. This includes having separate online forms for smaller and bigger grant applications.

You will be asked to provide contact details and organisation information, and to answer questions about your project. Please complete a Project Plan outlining key activities, milestones and timescales for your project as well as a budget document outlining the costs you would like us to fund. 

If you have any questions about how to complete the application form, please contact heritage.grants@torbay.gov.uk  

Supporting documents 

If your application is successful then you will be asked to provide further information. 

Support and advice to applicants 

To assist potential applicants, the council's Heritage Team will be hosting free, in-person advice sessions across Torbay, as well as a series of online drop-in sessions.

These drop-in sessions are open to all and provide informal guidance to answer any questions people may have. 

Drop in at any of the following locations: 

• Torquay Library on Tuesday 29 September between 10am and 1pm. 
• Brixham Library on Wednesday 30 September between 10am and 12.30pm. 
• Paignton Library on Thursday 1 October between midday and 5pm.  

Or join one of the online support sessions:

Please note the links below are to be used to join each meeting at the given time and not for registering your interest. 

• Tuesday 6 October between 11am and 1pm. Join this session now via Microsoft Teams. Meeting ID: 361 249 913 978 895 Password: ze999dN3.
• Wednesday 7 October between 6.30pm and 8pm. Join this session now via Microsoft Teams. Meeting ID: 359 430 609 662 535. Password: 97wk3Yp3.
• Thursday 8 October between midday and 2pm. Join this session now via Microsoft Teams. Meeting ID: 365 924 605 556 289. Password: xT3SZ9eF.

If you have any queries about eligibility or making a submission, or if you have access needs that could be a barrier to participating or applying and want to discuss this, please contact heritage.grants@torbay.gov.uk .  

Next steps for your application

Once you have submitted your application: 

• Your application will be subject to an initial assessment to check that the eligibility criteria are met, using a yes/no system.  

• You will be notified if your project does not pass this or if the Council needs further information to process it.  

• All applications that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be put before the Local Heritage Grant Awards Panel, made up of Council staff, and a Cabinet Member. 

Working in partnership

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage.

Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more.

Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage, they are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in their strategic plan, Heritage 2033.