The Antonine Wall (part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site Frontiers of the Roman Empire) was awarded £980,000 funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2019 to kickstart and support the £2.1 million “Rediscovering the Antonine Wall” project over the next three years.
The project includes the recruitment and training of 300 volunteers and a programme of community projects, such as graffiti workshops with international artists, to attract younger visitors. Patricia Weeks, Deputy Head of World Heritage: Antonine Wall Co-ordinator at Historic Environment Scotland, suggested the UNESCO status played a critical role in attracting funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Overall, several factors influence the ability of UNESCO designations to attract additional income. A designation’s popularity (in and of themselves), designation type, the international and domestic legislative and political framework, geography and location, human capacity and local economy all have an impact and must be taken into consideration when explaining the variation in generating additional income.
“The UNESCO status has certainly helped us receive funding for the Rediscovering the Antonine Wall project because our management plan has been used as a basis for the application. The National Lottery Heritage Fund liked that a steering group had already been set up for the management plan because it showed that a strong partnership was already in place.”
Patricia Weeks, Deputy Head of World Heritage Antonine Wall Co-ordinator at Historic Environment Scotland
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