Communities across Wales can now apply for a grant of between £3,000 and £10,000 to celebrate their local heritage.

Cadw – the Welsh Government’s historic environment service and the Heritage Fund in Wales are teaming to offer another round of the ‘15-Minute Heritage’ programme.

This is the second year the programme is running in Wales and it is based on a concept called the 15 minute city where everyone should be able to meet most of their needs within just a short walk or cycle from their home.

The aim of the capital grant programme is to support projects that help to connect communities with the heritage on their doorstep so that local people can benefit from it and it can fund the buying of, upgrading and maintaining of equipment; furnishings; fixtures; land and buildings and also digital projects such as creating apps or websites.

In 2020, 84 projects in each of Wales’ 22 local authority areas - from Anglesey to Aberdare; from Goodwick to Gwynfi, received a ’15-Minute Heritage’ grant.

Commenting on the launch of the ’15-Minute Heritage’ grants, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport Dawn Bowden said: “In Wales we are surrounded by heritage, not just in our museums, castles and historic structures, but in anything that inspires a sense of belonging.

“Whether it’s through empowering volunteers with new skills, enabling people to engage with their local heritage in new and accessible ways, or providing opportunities for groups and individuals who are sometimes harder to reach, each successful project will deliver benefits to communities nationwide.

“That’s why I’m so very pleased that Cadw is once again collaborating with the Heritage Fund to help communities explore, celebrate and share their local heritage stories.”

Cadw and the Heritage Fund in Wales first teamed up in 2020 to launch the ’15-Minute Heritage’ programme in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was when many of us were staying closer to home because of lockdown.

The grant programme helped people strengthen the connections they had with their surrounding community through ideas such as creating new walking trails and sharing stories about the place they called home.

Andrew White, director of the National Lottery Heritage Fund in Wales said: “It’s a pleasure to be working to be working with Cadw again to launch the ‘15-Minute Heritage’ grant programme, which proved to be so incredibly popular last year.

“Heritage is for everyone and local heritage - whether that’s a building, a landmark, a nature reserve or even our local shop, helps to create and shape our communities.

“I’m hoping we can support even more communities across Wales to connect with their heritage again this year and I would encourage anyone who want to explore and re-discover their local area and who maybe has never applied for one or our grants before - to apply for one of our ’15-Minute Heritage’ grants.”

In Pembrokeshire, Cilgerran Community Council’s Community Interest Company’s ‘O’r Castell i’r Corwg (From the Castle to the Coracle)’ project was awarded £9,700 from the grant programme.

They used the funding to create a link and interpretation pathway between Cilgerran Castle and the River Teifi.

“The ‘O’r Castell i’r Corwg’ project really does capture the natural environment and unique heritage of the community of Cilgerran,” said County Councillor John Davies in 2020.

“It will allow the inhabitants and those visiting to appreciate the special qualities of Cilgerran as an historic village which is influenced by its commanding castle and the splendour of the deep-rooted tradition of coracle fishing.”

For details about how to apply for a ‘15-Minute Heritage’ grant, please visit https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding