The lead body for built heritage and the historic environment is English Heritage, and we have well-established links with its South East regional office. English Heritage operates a number of different funding programmes and acts as one of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s key advisory bodies.
A recent piece of work of particular importance to the region is the Thames Gateway characterisation study, which identifies and maps various types of historic land use in the area. This will help identify what elements should be conserved or may require other treatment in the face of development pressures in this, the largest of the Sustainable Communities Growth Areas.
Museums, Library and Archives South East (MLA South East)
MLA South East is the development agency for museums, libraries and archives in this region. It distributes project grants from the Exchequer funding it receives and advises the Heritage Lottery Fund on awards.
It works closely with the South East England Development Agency (via a jointly funded post) especially in relation to learning and skills. Links with the Government Office for the South East are growing, particularly in the fields of social inclusion, children and young people and the cultural infrastructure requirements of the Growth Areas.
