Grant assistance of between £1,200 and £3,000 is available for works to historic buildings in North Kesteven.
Funding is available to both residential and commercial buildings, and the aim of the scheme is to preserve and enhance the District’s built heritage by encouraging the sympathetic repair of historic buildings.
A scheme total of £25,000 is available and works eligible for grant assistance include the repair, restoration or reinstatement of original windows and doors, brickwork and stonework repairs and repointing, repairs to chimneys and the repair or reinstatement of traditional boundary walls, railings and steps.
Grant assistance is available for the following historic buildings (residential and commercial or retail) and the amount normally available for each type of historic building is also indicated below:
Statutory Listed Buildings (Grade I, II and II)
Grants are available for 80% of the total cost of the eligible works, to a maximum grant of £3,000
Buildings within Conservation Areas
Grants are available for 60% of the total cost of the eligible works, to a maximum grant of £1,800
Local Heritage Assets (Non-Designated Heritage Assets) on the District Council’s Local List or where they meet the criteria for designation
Grants are available for 50% of the total cost of the eligible works, to a maximum grant of £1,200 Voluntary and not-for-profit organisations may be eligible for a higher percentage of grant (but would still be subject to the maximum payment level), particularly where the proposed works would have a wider social or community benefit.
Grant assistance is available for external repairs (provided these are carried out in appropriate traditional materials) and for the reinstatement of traditional features in accordance with physical or documentary evidence.
The Council will not normally provide financial assistance for internal works (unless in exceptional circumstances, for example where the works would be publicly accessible or relate to features of particularly special architectural or historic interest).
Works eligible for grant assistance would include:
• Repair or restoration of original windows & doors
• Reinstatement of traditional windows & doors
• Brickwork repairs and repointing
• Reinstatement of traditional roof coverings and rainwater goods
• Chimney repairs or rebuilding works
• Stonework repairs
• Timber frame repairs
• Reinstatement of missing architectural features (subject to evidence)
• Repair or reinstatement of traditional boundary walls, railings and steps
Works not eligible for grant assistance would include:
• Installation of Upvc windows and doors
• The injection of damp proof treatment
• Cosmetic redecoration (internal or external)
• Scaffolding (as part of a scheme of repairs)
• General maintenance works
• Reinstatement or replacement of non-original architectural features
To apply for a heritage grant, please complete the grant application form available on the Council’s website and return to the Council’s Conservation Officer using the details contained in the application form along with a minimum of two comparable and detailed quotations for the works.
Important
Grants must be offered and accepted before any works commence on site. The Council will not grant aid works retrospectively. Where planning permission, Listed Building Consent or any other form of statutory consent are needed to carry out the proposed works, these permissions must be approved and any pre-commencement planning conditions discharged before any grant aided works are undertaken.
The Council will not grant aid works that do not have the benefit of the appropriate permissions, are not undertaken in accordance with approved plans, or works that seek to address or regularise unauthorised works – including works that are the subject of enforcement action by the Council.
• Grants are paid out by the Council to the applicant upon receipt of a full receipted invoice for the works. They will not pay the contractor directly
• Owners are allowed one grant per address per financial year
• Grants will not normally be given for properties which have been sold to the current owners in the previous 12 months
• The grant offered will be registered as a local land charge or restrictive covenant (registered via the Land Registry) on your property. If you sell the property within three years of the grant payment, the Council will be entitled to recoup all or part of the amount
• The Heritage Grant Fund is discretionary, and the Council will only offer a grant if the scheme would make a positive contribution to preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest. The Council has absolute discretion as to whether grant will be offered for the proposed works and their decision is final.
• The grant-aided Works must be completed, and copies of final receipted accounts received by the Council within one year of the date of the written grant offer, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Council
