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 £250,000 of funding for this round of awards which are running between 2026 and 2028.  

Before you apply

What type of projects are we looking to support

The Bay has a rich literary, artistic and musical heritage and the current round of Local Heritage Grants invites local groups to think creatively about how to engage with residents and celebrate Torbay’s connections with iconic writers, artists, and musicians.  

We want to encourage you to discover, explore, share and celebrate what makes Torbay special to you.  

Projects must be based in Torbay and involve and benefit local communities through public facing activity, events or participation. Projects can include tangible heritage (such as buildings, parks, archives), intangible heritage (like oral histories, traditions, and celebrations) or natural heritage (such as green and blue spaces). This could be through conservation, commemoration, trails, plaques, and other creative responses. 

Examples of potential projects include: 

• heritage walking trails 
• digital enhancement at existing heritage sites 
• commemorative installation 

What we mean by heritage

Funding criteria  

This funding is made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Applications received will be considered and assessed against how the project seeks to address two or more of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s (NHLF's) four core funding principles seen below. A full description of each of these principles can be found on the Heritage Fund website; 

1. Saving heritage - Conserving and valuing heritage, for now and the future 
2. Protecting the environment- Supporting nature recovery and environmental sustainability.  
3. Inclusion, access and participation- Supporting greater inclusion, diversity, access and participation in heritage.  
4. Organisational sustainability- Strengthening heritage to be adaptive and financially resilient, contributing to communities and economies. 

Applications submitted to the Torbay Local Heritage Grant Awards: Artists, Writers & Musicians on the English Riviera will also be assessed considering the following criteria; 

• Fairly distributed among local community groups, following an open and transparent selection process 
• Successful delivery of a range of local heritage projects across Torbay, engaging and led by diverse community groups of all ages and backgrounds 
• Torbay residents and visitors will be better informed of Torbay’s rich heritage and will have a greater sense of local identity and pride in place 
• Projects must be delivered in Torbay between May 2026 and completed by January 2028 – this includes completion of evaluation 
• Projects should have a public facing element to be showcased during the programme year and/or at the Showcase in summer of 2027 and in May 2028 
• Project proposals must consider how outputs will be documented 

In addition, we are keen to support projects that: 

• Respond to the theme whilst prioritising opportunities for communities to connect and improve physical and mental well-being 
• Engage a greater diversity of communities, including children and young people 
• Foster collaboration and partnership between organisations, community groups, and individual heritage/artist practitioners 
• From organisations that haven’t previously successfully applied for Council or National Lottery Heritage Grant funding, although previously successful groups are still eligible 

 Eligibility criteria  

• Applications are encouraged from groups and organisations, whether or not they are constituted; for not-for-profit Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector groups and organisations within Torbay; or a combination of groups working together. They should be representative of their local area. 
• Applications may be considered by organisations that are based outside the area if the sole benefit of the project is for communities within Torbay. 
• Eligible bodies may be but are not limited to: 
• Youth groups 
• Local heritage organisations, museums, and heritage societies 
• Constituted Neighbourhood Committees, Residents Associations, Community Groups and Voluntary Organisations; 
• Social Enterprises; 
• Community Interest Companies; 
• Community Benefit Societies; and 
• Charities and trusts. 
• Consideration will also be given to applicants who are sole traders and small businesses provided the project is entirely for the benefit of the local community and if they form a community group who would hold the ownership of heritageGrant funding cannot be used to subsidise a business's income or pay towards salary costs. 
• Grant recipients will be expected to participate in evaluation of the grant scheme, which may involve responding to surveys or collecting information about their project to help us report to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 
• Projects which propose working with Council owned property are eligible if they are community-led, for public benefit, and only where the application is submitted with written permission from the Council (which must be sought prior to submission).  

We cannot fund  

• Profit-making or fundraising activities 
• Acquisition of land, buildings or heritage items 
• Activities that support or promote a particular political party or agenda, cause or religious agenda 
• Project activities that are deemed the statutory responsibility of the council 
• Ongoing support from the council once the project has ended 
• Contingency costs, loans, endowments or interest or any budget deficit 
• Retrospective payments for the project or purchases which have already taken place 
• Costs that are already paid for by other income including applicant's own funds or any other funding 
• VAT that you can reclaim 
• Administration and/or research costs of preparing this application (e.g. paying someone to write an application for you)
• Any other non-project-specific costs 

Full application guidelines for the new round will be available from Monday 28 September. 

Applying for a Local Heritage Grant

How to apply

Applications for the new round will open on Monday 28 September. When applications open, we will add further information and guidance for how to complete your application. 

How to complete the application form  

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 (joining details to be added soon). 

• Tuesday 6 October between 11am and 1pm. 
• Wednesday 7 October between 6.30pm and 8pm. 
• Thursday 8 October between midday and 2pm. 

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