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Absolutely! The Network itself doesn’t offer funding but being a member means we can help direct you to sources of funding via our online Toolkit and fortnightly Opportunities Bulletins where we highlight upcoming grants from across the UK.

Our online member only Network Days feature a ‘Where’s the Money’ slot, where we hear from funders or fundraising consultants, and we also feature funding updates at other events across the year such as our Annual Conference.

The Network is in regular contact with key heritage funders such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund and our annual impact survey of members helps us to identify funding requirement areas which we can highlight to funders.

Whilst the Network itself doesn't respond to planning applications our Network class membership provides access to our Toolkit of resources where you can find guidance on how to respond to applications and gather local support.

You’ll also be able to ask fellow members for their experiences on our Network Hub and pick up top tips to help you fight your corner.

Unfortunately, the Network is designed to help community groups rather than private individuals. However, you can find lots of information about living in a listed building on the following sites: Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw (for those in Wales), Department for Communities Northern Ireland.

There is also the Listed Property Owners’ Club which has a similar offer to our own but which is aimed at private individuals undertaking built heritage projects.

Sorry but the Network itself doesn’t own any properties. Our members across the UK own thousands of sites between them ranging from cow shed to castles! They have an incredible variety of sites which are put to an equally incredible range of uses. Some are what you might consider tradition uses for historic buildings such as visitor centres or museums but our members are a creative bunch and work with their local communities to put the buildings to practical uses that meet local needs. As such we have members whose buildings are used for children’s circus schools, community food banks, co-working spaces and cafes. And those are just some examples beginning with C.

Many of our members do have their sites open to the public, even if just on Heritage Open Days / Open Doors Days, but given the numbers involved we aren’t able to provide these details. If you like the sound of a project mentioned on our website, then you should be able to click the hyperlink in the organisation’s name to take you to their website where you should be able to find their own contact details.

If you're looking for consultants and contractors then why not check out our Talent Bank? The Talent Bank is made up of Partner members of the Network who have come with two recommendations from heritage projects. This means that you know that they’d had experience of working with community, or small scale, projects and so will have an understanding of the challenges you are likely to be facing.

It’s also worth looking in our Partner Member directory. These are firms who have shown they are committed to working to support the heritage sector by joining the Network as Partner members.

If you are a member of the Network then you also have access to our Network Hub where you can ask fellow members for recommendations. We’ve also got guidance in our online member Toolkit of resources such as Top Tips on How to Be a Good Client.

Network class members can also take advantage of pro bono offers from some of our Partner members. These generally take the form of an hours free advice on topics such as Project Management, VAT, Business Planning or Funding.

Great question! Thanks for caring. In the first instance you might like to flag it up with the conservation officer at your council, if you have one. It’s also worth checking the buildings at risk registers in your nation (if publicly available). If it’s already on the list then you may find that they have a way that you can let them know about anything new they should be concerned about. If it’s not on the list then they will often provide details of how to nominate a building. Be aware though that being on a list unfortunately isn’t a magic recipe to fix the building.

Restoring historic buildings, and bringing them back into community use, takes lots to time, money, perseverance and passion. As you’re obviously already passionate about the building then why not consider doing something about it yourself? Many of our members started out with just one person with a vision and are now thriving community buildings bringing services and income in to their local areas.

Our free Connect class membership is designed for people who are really at the start of that journey. People like you who’ve seen a building they are concerned about and want to do something about it. Our member only Toolkit guides you through how to get community support for your idea, how to pull together a great board to oversee the project and how to go about getting those initial bits of funding to allow you to test whether your plans will be viable.

Absolutely! Our free Connect class membership is designed for people just like you who are looking to establish a group to protect, or take on, a historic site.

By joining as a Connect class member you'll have information to guidance about what to think about when establishing your group, how to put together a strong board of trustees and the types of legal structure that you could take.

In our Toolkit, you'll find model documents, guidance notes, case studies and webinar recordings to help you get your group set up.