The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced more than £1bn funding over the next five years.

As well as further funding opportunities The National Lottery Heritage Fund has undergone an overhaul which sees it thank National Lottery players and help people better understand the difference they make when they buy a ticket. This move underlines ambitions to see returns to good causes grow.

Ros Kerslake, CEO of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

Over the past 25 years, money raised by people who buy National Lottery tickets has profoundly changed how we view and engage with the UK’s exceptionally varied heritage. By putting people at its heart, it has helped our wonderful buildings, iconic landscapes, cultural memories and traditions and native species not just survive, but thrive.

Over the next five years, The National Lottery Heritage Fund will inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage, distributing more than £1bn. So we will be making more decisions on funding locally and focusing on the heritage that really matters to people, creating jobs, bringing economic prosperity and improving people’s lives right across the UK.

Research has found that National Lottery players are keen to know more about how their money is used, so in future every organisation awarded funding will be asked to think about how National Lottery players will be thanked, acknowledged and invited to participate in their work.

Heritage Minister Michael Ellis MP said:

The UK’s heritage is the story of our shared past and culture. The National Lottery has funded thousands of projects that protect and celebrate the country’s diverse landscapes, traditional crafts, and buildings.

This change by The National Lottery Heritage Fund will give heritage experts in the UK more power to care for the heritage that means the most to local people, and ensure it is protected for future generations.

Image: Forsinard Aurora (Connecting people and peatlands project) © Maciej Winiarczyk