Heritage Network has published its second annual impact report detailing the impact that community heritage organisations have on people and places throughout the UK.
What does this mean?
The Impact Report details the impact achieved by Heritage Network members throughout 2024 and the beginning of 2025, as well as highlighting 4 case studies from across the UK and an update from the Heritage Network itself.
David Tittle, Chief Executive at Heritage Network says “I would like to thank all the busy people in member organisations that took the time to complete the impact survey and contributed to this impressive report. It will help us make the case to Governments, funders and other decision makers that community heritage delivers so many benefits and is worth investing in.”
Highlights from the report include:
- Over £50 million was spent by members restoring buildings, structures or land
- 46 properties were removed from ‘at risk’ registers
- 220 restoration projects were completed
- Members had over 28,000 volunteers
This year, the report also details the uses of member sites, who they are led by or targeted at, their type and when they were originally built.
Why is it important?
The Impact Report is vital for demonstrating how much of an impact community heritage organisations have on heritage and their local areas. The report shows an increase in sites being acquired by members (2,452 in 2024 compared to 2,010 in 2023) and an increase in money spent by these organisations.
The types of sites being restored by members also shows the variety of historic buildings being restored across the UK. Some report examples include:
- 16% of sites were Places of Worship
- 13% Industrial
- 7% Historic Gardens
- 7% Burial Grounds and Mausoleums
These community organisations are not only contributing to the heritage sector and reaching buildings that larger organisations may not be able to, but the report shows they are having a positive impact on their local areas. 34% of member sites are used as community facilities, and 15% are used for Health and Wellbeing services.
Many of our members are small community groups or organisations who are rely on or are managed by volunteers. They dedicate their time to restoring these buildings because they can see the benefits it could bring to their communities.
What happens now?
The Impact Report is available to view online and will be shared across the heritage industry with funders, local authorities and other organisations who provide support to the sector.
Our aim is to promote the significant contributions made to the Heritage sector and local communities by Heritage Network members. We stand by our members and highlight that community led regeneration is a vital part of the heritage sector.
If you or your organisation is involved in community heritage and would benefit from specialist advice, guidance, training, support, networking and events, then get in touch about membership at the Heritage Network today.
View the Impact Report 2025
The Impact Report was made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.
