What is the Townscape Heritage Initiative?

The THI provides grants for the repair and regeneration of historic properties within towns and cities throughout the UK. The £2 million project will allocate funding to conservation projects in the Boulevard and Coltman Street conservation areas. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Gateway, the Hull and East Riding housing market renewal partnership. The programme is managed by Hull and East Yorkshire Community Foundation on behalf of Hull City Council. The key objective is to encourage and support heritage-led regeneration through the highest standards of conservation and design in the area. By improving the environment, the scheme will support Gateway's aims to create a neighbourhood where people choose to live. THI grants will be available for three main categories of work; building repairs, reinstatement of architectural detail and bringing vacant historic floor space back into use.
Building repairs
• Grants in this category will be put towards the structural and external frontage repair of historic buildings which are already in use. The main emphasis will be on external repairs.
• The objective is to make good the structure and front elevation of buildings and make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the area.
• Repairs must be made using appropriate techniques and suitable materials that suit the buildings history.
Reinstatement of architectural detail
• Grants in this category contribute towards the reinstatement of external architectural features to the front elevation of buildings, which are otherwise in sound repair.
• The aim is to reinstate parts of the building which are essential to the design and character. This might include ornamental masonry (including sculpture), joinery to historic patterns and ornamental metal work such as balconies.
Bringing vacant historic floor space back into use
• Grants in this category can be used to help fund work to bring vacant historic floor space back into use. Proposals for such work must respect the character of the building both internally and externally.
• Internal and external work can in