REVIEW AND ANALYSIS 33 HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT TRUSTS’ TOP TIPS GAVIN RICHARDS IN DECEMBER 2023, 12 organisations based around the UK were selected as new ‘heritage development trusts’ following a competitive bidding process. The initiative is being led by the Architectural Heritage Fund in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It follows on from a pilot project in England between 2020–23 which helped seven building preservation trusts and similar organisations to grow their operations and complete historic building regeneration projects at a greater pace. A heritage development trust is not a prescribed legal structure. Qualifying organisations may be social enterprises or charities of various forms, but they share a commitment to improving the places they operate in. This is achieved through the acquisition and repair of historic buildings, providing new uses which meet the needs of their communities. The key to their success is forging effective partnership with their local authorities and other stakeholders, including other third sector organisations and private businesses. By taking an entrepreneurial approach to development, they seek to develop an asset base of properties that can generate enough income to sustain their operations. The 12 new heritage development trusts will receive a package of support for capacity-building over three years (until 2026) including revenue funding, support from consultants acting as ‘critical friends’, a peer learning programme and access to grants to develop projects involving the rescue and viable reuse of vacant or underused historic buildings. We asked four of the heritage development trusts what advice they would offer to others developing their business cases for upcoming projects and what are the main risks to look out for in delivery. This diverse group covers the four UK nations: Redruth, where Redruth Revival Community Interest Company operates, was once the centre of Cornwall’s tin and copper mining industry and has a rich stock of historic buildings from its Victorian heyday; Pantaloons Theatre Company performing in the courtyard of Redruth’s Buttermarket (Photo: Redruth Revival CIC) The grand façade of the Mining Exchange, which forms the fourth side of the Buttermarket courtyard, illustrates Redruth’s prosperity in the 19th century
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