Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2021

It has been announced that 477 heritage projects are to benefit from a total of €3m under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) 2021.

In addition to supporting owners of historic structures in maintaining and safeguarding their properties, the funding will also provide a welcome boost to local construction and heritage trades by facilitating works with a total value of over €15.5m and leveraging an estimated 19,000 days’ labour.

The BHIS is one of two built heritage funding schemes run by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in association with the thirty-one local authorities.  Through grants of up to €15,000, the BHIS assists owners of historic structures, including those on the Record of Protected Structures and those in Architectural Conservation Areas, to meet their obligations to maintain their properties.  The scheme is not limited to private dwellings and also provides assistance to a wide range of other important historic structures.  The projects being granted funding under the BHIS 2021 include the iconic “Why Go Bald” neon sign in South Great George’s Street, Dublin; the pyramidal Maudlins Mausolea in Naas, County Kildare; the Hindu-Gothic Dromana Gate in County Waterford; the War of Independence Memorial in Bruff, County Limerick; and the Raheens Obelisk near Castlebar in County Mayo.

Also included under the BHIS 2021 is a continuation of the micro-grant stream introduced in 2020 to increase the resilience of historic structures to withstand the constant effects of climate change.  This allows local authorities to make smaller awards to owners of historic structures to carry out routine maintenance to offset the impact of climate change on their properties.

The list of projects being awarded funding under the BHIS 2021 is available here: Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2021 Projects

Photo: Liam Hughes