A Nutkhut performance company led event at Marble Hill House

Community Connections Grants

We’re working with the National Lottery Heritage fund to distribute £150,000 worth of funding to connect communities with heritage in the North of England. Find out how you can apply for grants of up to £5,000 to support exciting projects at some of the free to visit sites in our care.

A group from Gosport Voluntary Action pose in front of their pop-up.

About the grants

Community Connections is a grant programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We want to fund projects that will help people connect with free-to-visit sites in our care. The programme is focused on sites in Tyne and Wear, north Cumbria, and the north of Northumberland. We are most interested in projects about wellbeing, heritage skills, or nature.

We can fund many types of projects, as long as they meet the Community Connections criteria and the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s investment principles.

Eligible Sites

There'll be one round of funding for each region in the programe. Here's a list of the funding rounds and eligible English Heritage sites in each region.

Round 1 - Tyne and Wear

• Benwell Roman Temple, Newcastle upon Tyne

• Benwell Vellum Crossing, Newcastle upon Tyne

• Bessie Surtees House, Newcastle upon Tyne

• Denton Hall Turret, Newcastle upon Tyne

• Denton Hall Turret, Newcastle upon Tyne

• Derwentcote Steel Furnace, Hamsterly

• Heddon-on-the-Wall, Heddon

• Hylton Castle, Sunderland

• Prudhoe Castle, Prudhoe

• St Paul's Monastery, Jarrow
Round 2 - North Cumbria and Hadrian's Wall

• Banks East Turret, Brampton

• Countess Pillar, Brougham

• Harrows Scar Milecastle and Wall, Brampton

• Hare Hill, Brampton

• King Arthur's Round Table, Eamont Bridge

• Leahill Turret, Brampton

• Maybugh Henge, Eamont Bridge

• Penrith Castle, Penrith

• Pike Hill signal Tower, Brampton

• Piper Sike Turret, Brampton

• Poltross Burn Milecastle, Gilsland

• Willowford Roman Bridge, Gilsland
Round 3 - North Northumberland

• Berwick-upon-Tweed Castle, Berwick-upon-Tweed

• Berwick-upon-Tweed Ramparts, Berwick-upon-Tweed

• Berwick Bell Tower, Berwick-upon-Tweed

• Lord's Mount, Berwick-upon-Tweed

• Magazine, Berwick-upon-Tweed

• Norham Castle, Berwick-upon-Tweed

• Etal Castle, Etal

How to apply

How much you can apply for

You can apply for grants from £250 to £5,000. There are two levels of grant. Those applying for the higher amounts will have to provide a little more detail in their application form.

The levels are:
• £250-£999
• £1,000 - £5,000

Application criteria

All applications must:

have been discussed in advance with the Community Connections team.
evidence how they meet the Community Connections criteria.
evidence how they reflect the National Lottery Heritage Fund Investment Principles.
provide detailed information about the events and activities they will deliver.
identify which eligible site or sites your project will focus on.

Who can apply

Grants will only be given to organisations with a constitution, a bank account and externally audited accounts.

If you're an individual or a non-constituted group, you'll need to partner with a constituted organisation to apply for the grant and manage the project. If you're not sure what a constituted organisation is, or you want to explore the idea of applying as a partnership, please let us know when you get in touch.

When to apply
The grants will be available in three rounds, with one round for each region. Applications will open on the following dates:

Funding Round Applications open Applications close
Round 1 - Tyne & Wear: Applications open 26 Mar 2025 and close 25 June 2025
Round 2 - North Cumbria: Applications open 1 June 2025 and close 31 Aug 2025
Round 3 - North Northumberland: Applications open 1 Sept 2025 and close 30 Nov 2025

It could take up to four weeks from the closing date for us to consider your application and get back to you, so please factor this into your project timescales.