The fund, which will be up to £3 million, will award grants to help fund urgent maintenance, repairs and investigations. The business generated will help heritage specialists, whose livelihoods have been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Grants of up to £25,000 will be offered to fix urgent problems at locally-cherished historic buildings and sites which are normally visited by the public, so that they can re-open as quickly as possible, subject to COVID-19 restrictions. The funding can be used to address problems such as damaged roofs, masonry and windows, to hire scaffolding to prevent structural collapse, or commission surveys necessary to inform urgent repairs.

In a survey Historic England found that those hardest hit over the last three months were craft workers, like stonemasons and glaziers, and professionals such as architects and surveyors. In the South West 45 per cent of craftspeople and 57 per cent of professionals predicted that their businesses will fail within three months without any additional support. The fund will generate work for these professionals from early autumn and develop a pipeline of projects.

Applicants are invited to apply for grants of up to £25,000 towards a maximum project size of £30,000 for urgent minor repairs, maintenance or development works which must be started before 31 October 2020. The deadline for expressions of interest is midnight on 28 June 2020. Those successful at this stage will be informed by 27 July 2020 and invited to submit a full application by 31 August 2020.

More information on eligibility and how to apply: https://historicengland.org.uk/covid-19-fund/