Heritage Management Plan Grant
To be awarded in financial year 2025 to 2026. Funding of up to 50% towards consultant’s eligible costs of preparing a Heritage Management Plan or associated study or survey. Available only for land in England of outstanding Scenic, historic or scientific interest designated by HMRC (or recommended by Natural England for designation) for conditional exemption from inheritance tax. Applicants must be landowners or Trustees or their authorised agent. Do not apply unless your land is or will be subject to conditional exemption or Maintenance Fund undertakings. Scheduled monuments, grade 1 or 2 star listed buildings or grade 1 or 2 star registered parks/gardens, capital works, revenue or annual works, detailed design proposals, planning applications or commercial development are not eligible.
- Opening date: (Midnight)
- Closing date: (Midnight)
Contents
Summary
Please contact your Natural England Inheritance Tax Exemption officer or email inheritancetaxexemption@naturalengland.org.uk if you are unsure whether or not to apply for a Heritage Management Plan grant. Natural England can give you advice on the scope of your proposed project between 1 March 2024 and 26 November 2024. They cannot give you advice about your proposal during the grant application window between 27 November 2024 and 28 February 2025. They cannot comment on a brief for consultants at any time.The consultant carrying out the work cannot be the applicant or the person claiming the grant payment.To reduce the likelihood or fraud or error, prior to any decision to award funding Natural England will perform due diligence checks at the appropriate level based on the value of your application. Natural England will check sources which will include but may not be limited to Companies House, Open Source data and internet search engines.Match funding must not be from other government sources.You can request grant assistance for the VAT element if the costs include VAT that you are unable to reclaim. Eligible applications will be awarded funding up to 50% subject to budget availability. No grants will be offered if Natural England decides not to commit a budget for this grant scheme. If the total value of eligible applications is more than the total value of the available budget, Natural England must either reduce the percentage of funding or request budget increase to cover the awards. In the event that neither of these scenarios is feasible, Natural England will liaise with Defra subsidy team to confirm what alternative mechanism could be used.
Eligibility
Applicants must be owners or Trustees of land in England of outstanding scenic, historic or scientific interest designated by HMRC (or recommended by Natural England for designation) for conditional exemption from inheritance tax or as the object of a Maintenance Fund, or the authorised agent of the owner or Trustees. Do not apply unless your land is or will be subject to conditional exemption or Maintenance Fund undertakings under Schedule 31(1)(b) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
Applications will only be eligible if they meet all of the following criteria. Failing to meet any one of the following criteria will make an application ineligible.
1. The property is designated by HMRC (or has been recommended by Natural England for designation) for conditional exemption from inheritance tax or as the object of a Maintenance Fund as land of outstanding scenic, historic or scientific interest under Schedule 31(1)(b) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
2. The project must be one of the following options:
Completion of a Heritage Management Plan (HMP) already grant funded to data collection or consultation draft stage
New HMP for new claim designated or recommended for designation (consultation draft or final output)
New HMP for renewal claim designated or recommended for designation (consultation draft or final output)
New HMP for property already designated but no existing HMP
Review or replacement of part or whole HMP for property already designated where existing HMP is out of date or does not meet current requirements (eg significant changes since previous HMP)
Update of existing HMP work programme
Specialist survey/study that contributes to understanding/management of the outstanding interest
3. The project accords with Natural England's general purposes to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations.
4. The outputs will be in accordance with the current guidance on Preparing a Heritage Management Plan or other approved relevant guidance including any supplementary advice provided by Natural England with additional sections relevant to your property to include assessment of vulnerable features and inclusion of policies necessary to take reasonable steps to maintain the outstanding interest or agreed alternative solutions in the context of climate change; and, as a voluntary rather than mandatory requirement, references to any relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Species Conservation Strategy or Protected Site Strategy required by the Environment Act 2021.
5. The proposed project can be completed entirely or to data collection or consultation draft stage within the financial year it is awarded (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026).NB if your project is awarded funding but does not achieve fully the intended outcome, you may claim for eligible items of work completed within the financial ear when there is evidence that the work is of a satisfactory standard and can be used as the basis for future work. You may submit a subsequent application in a future year to complete the project, but please be aware that there may not be a Heritage Management Plan grant in future years and also please note that the subsequent application would be subject to the rules of competition and evaluation issued for the relevant future year.
Ineligible items: the following items will not be eligible for grant funding:
capital works
annual payments for carrying out works
design proposals or supporting information for planning applications or for commercial development
scheduled monuments, Grade 1 or 2 star listed buildings or Grade 1 or 2 star Registered Parks/Gardens (including studies or surveys or management plans for these elements)
NB You can write your own HMP if you have the necessary skills, but you will only get grant funding for work done by specialists or consultants.
Objectives
To provide an incentive for the preparation of good quality Heritage Management Plans or associated studies or surveys that will:
Improve understanding of the outstanding land and deliver good up-to-date information about the natural environment
help owners of outstanding land designated by HMRC to maintain the land and preserve its character and provide reasonable public access
help Natural England and HMRC monitor compliance with conditional exemption or Maintenance Fund undertakings
help deliver relevant objectives of the 25 Year Environment Plan
align with Natural England's general purposes
Dates
27 November 2024: grant application window opens
28 February 2025: grant application window closes
March 2025: evaluation of applications; applicants will be notified of evaluation results and provided with feedback
April 2025 or later: grant offers for successful applications will be issued as soon as budget is confirmed
May 2025 or later: grant recipients must return acceptance form and provide bank details within 1 month of grant offer
31 March 2026 or earlier: grant recipients must complete their project satisfactorily and submit grant claims unless a variation is agreed with Natural England
How to apply
How to apply: see Heritage Management Plan grant application process
Natural England writes to owners of eligible land or their authorised agent each November to invite applications for a Heritage Management Plan grant.
Natural England sends an application form and supporting information to eligible applicants who request an application form.
Natural England will evaluate all applications it receives by the closing date, in accordance with the eligibility and evaluation criteria it provides with the application form