Waterford's Built Heritage Investment Scheme opens to applicants
The heritage investment scheme is now open to applicants. Pictured are children enjoying the walled garden at Mount Congreve. Pic: Patrick Browne
Malcolm Noonan TD, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform at the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, has recently announced the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) for 2025, which is now open for applications.
This scheme is intended to support a substantial number of projects across the country, while also promoting the employment of skilled and experienced conservation professionals, craftspeople, and tradespersons in the repair and restoration of historic buildings.
The Built Heritage Investment Scheme is a government grant initiative funded by the National Built Heritage Service (NBHS), designed to assist owners and custodians in maintaining and conserving these significant structures. It operates in tandem with the Historic Structures Fund (HSF), which supports larger-scale conservation works on heritage properties. The funding for these schemes is administered through Local Authorities.
Ireland’s historic buildings play a vital role in enriching our cities, towns, villages, and countryside, while also fostering a strong sense of place and community pride.
These custodians, along with Local Authorities, are charged with ensuring the preservation of these important buildings.
Since 2016, Waterford City and County Council has been allocated nearly €2 million for conservation projects under these schemes. To date, this funding has supported 168 projects, provided over 11,000 days of employment, and generated expenditure exceeding €4 million. These figures do not include the non-conservation aspects of the projects, which have also generated additional local employment and economic activity.
The projects funded in Waterford have varied in scope, including essential repairs to rainwater goods, walls, windows, chimneys, and thatched roofs, as well as the restoration of stained glass windows and shopfronts.
Protected structures: buildings listed on the Record of Protected Structures (RPS); Proposed protected structures: buildings that the Local Authority proposes to include on this list; Structures in Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs): buildings located within areas defined as an ACA in the Waterford City and County Development Plan 2022-2028; Vernacular buildings: such as farm buildings; and Historic shopfronts.
For 2025, there have been some changes to the BHIS.. Notably, the scheme has been advertised much earlier than usual. This adjustment allows the details of the successful projects and the corresponding funding amounts to be announced in early January 2025.
The funding will range between €2,500 and a maximum of €50,000. The total value of public funding provided for individual projects can cover up to 80 per cent of the total project cost, with the final amount determined by the Local Authority on a case-by-case basis. The scheme will be administered by the Conservation Section of Waterford City and County Council.
Full details of the scheme are available at https://waterfordcouncil.ie/documents/grants/ with completed application to be submitted by Friday, September 27, 2024.
