Lottery funding boost for heritage venues

2016 kicked off to a great start for Heritage Open Days which received an award of £150,000 from players of People’s Postcode Lottery for the second year running.

Now in its 22nd year, the festival is the largest and longest running grass roots festival of its type, bringing together people all over England to celebrate what makes their neighbourhoods special.

The North West is one of the biggest growth areas for the festival, ranking as the third busiest region in the country for the number of events.

Heritage Open Days manager Katja Condy said: “With registration for this year’s festival only weeks away, we are delighted to receive this funding for Heritage Open Days. This new award from players will ensure that 2016’s Heritage Open Days, running from 8th to 11th September, will enjoy the same success. “Heritage Open Days allows us to reach beyond our boundaries to help people, families and communities form connections with their local heritage and look after the places they love. In 2015, the festival enabled 3.4m people from across Great Britain to discover their local history, architecture and culture, with a record 2m sampling the four-day festival for the first time. This kind of impact would not be possible without the generous support we receive from players.”