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HLF unveils £8m landscape funding boost
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has set aside funding worth £8m to be awarded to seven rural regeneration and conservation schemes.
Funding will be made available through its Landscape Partnership Scheme (LPS), designed to protect and improve landscapes across Britain. Over the past four years, the HLF initiative has benefited 29 landscapes throughout the UK, and this latest announcement will see its total investment increase to £48m.
The Forgotten Landscapes Project at Blaenavon's World Heritage Site in South Wales is set to receive £1.6m for the promotion of Wales' role as the world's first industrial nation. The project will also go towards the restoration of historic wetlands, the conservation of wildlife and the protection of archaeological remains at the site. An award of £1.2m has been earmarked for the Sefton Coast LPS on Merseyside, which will see improved access and management of 80sq km (31sq m) of low-lying coastline to the north and south of Southport.
In Scotland, three projects will receive HLF funding, including £1.03m for the conservation and restoration of sites on the remote Applecross peninsula, £622,700 towards a preservation scheme on the Isle of Harris, and nearly £651,000 for the Ochils LPS in central Scotland. Elsewhere, the largest award of £1.97m has been set aside for a regeneration partnership in the South Pennines, while the Sperrins Mountain Range in Northern Ireland will benefit from £950,000 to protect the local environment.
HLF chair, Jenny Abramsky, said: "Our landscapes are as much under threat as other part of our heritage yet we often take them for granted. The LPS is helping protect some of the UK's most spectacular scenery by bringing together groups, with a shared passion for supporting the heritage of the surrounding natural environment, to form strong partnerships rather than working in isolation." The earmarked award is currently at the 'stage one pass' stage, which doesn't guarantee funding, but indicates positive support for the schemes in question. The projects will now be expected to submit a further application in order to secure the cash.