Capital funding from Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) has been relaunched to support the restoration and adaptive reuse of neglected historic buildings in town centres across England.
It aims to empower community-led organisations, such as charities, not-for-profits, and social enterprises, to take ownership of heritage assets and transform them into functional community spaces.
The programme prioritises projects in town centres and seeks to preserve historic buildings at risk of decay.
The fund offers three grant types.
Project Viability Grants of up to £20,000 to help to establish whether a project is viable.
Project Development Grants of up to £100,000 to support development work on historic building projects. The average grant is likely to be £70,000 – £80,000. Expressions of Interest can be submitted at any time. If invited to submit a full application, the 2026/27 quarterly deadlines are:
- 13 July 2026
- 12 October 2026
- 18 January 2027.
Capital Grants of up to £500,000 are being offered to support work to restore and reuse historic buildings in town centre locations. Capital grants can be used to fund up to 80% of your total capital costs, or as a smaller % of a larger capital project. The grants are intended to support project costs from RIBA 5 onwards. Costs can include professional fees, including design team fees, project management, repair and conservation work and/or work required to enable ‘meanwhile’ use or change of useProjects must involve a significant change of use or ownership.
Priority will be given to historic buildings in towns across England, especially in deprived areas.
There is a two-stage application process, beginning with an Expression of Interest which can be submitted at any time.
If your project is a close match with the funder’s priorities, you will be invited to submit a full application. It usually takes 3-4 months to assess Capital Grant applications. Full Capital Grant applications must be submitted by quarterly application deadlines. For 2026-2027, these are:
- 22 June 2026
- 21 September 2026
- 14 December 2026.
For more information and to apply, visit the AHF Heritage Revival Fund webpage here.
