As UNESCO marks its 80th anniversary, new analysis reveals that since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has invested over £1 billion in cultural and natural heritage projects within UNESCO sites across the United Kingdom, strengthening communities, protecting landscapes, and helping to build the conditions for long-term peace.
This unprecedented level of investment has supported over 3,000 projects in the UKs:
| UNESCO site | Amount (£) |
| World Heritage Sites | £668.8 million |
| Biosphere Reserves | £149.2 million |
| Global Geoparks | £189.7 million |
| Total | £1,005,656,090 |
The Heritage Fund has also provided extensive support for intangible cultural heritage, craft traditions, community practices, and creativity.
When UNESCO was founded in 1945, it was built on a belief that peace is constructed not only through diplomacy or defence, but through education, culture, science, and community solidarity. Over more than three decades, Heritage Fund investment has helped give this founding mission modern, local meaning, connecting people and communities, supporting projects in UNESCO sites across the four nations of the UK that:
Anna Nsubuga, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, said:
"As UNESCO marks its 80th anniversary, this extraordinary level of investment demonstrates the UK’s enduring commitment to our shared cultural and natural heritage. UNESCO sites across the four nations not only safeguard places of global importance, but also strengthen local identity, community pride and international partnerships.
We thank The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players for their vital contribution to this work. Their support helps ensure that the UK’s heritage continues to inspire, connect and bring people together, here at home and across the world.”
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“Celebrating UNESCO’s 80th anniversary, we are proud to have invested over £1 billion to protect world-class heritage across the UK. From iconic natural landscapes and historic treasures to cultural traditions and intangible heritage, our funding connects communities, creates opportunities for learning and careers, attracts visitors, and helps places thrive.
From globally significant sites like the Solway Coast and Slate Landscapes of North Wales to reviving heritage skills such as Cornish hedging, we’re building a future where heritage inspires and offers joy. Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delivering our vision for a future where heritage is valued, cared for and sustained for everyone.”
James Bridge, Chief Executive of the UK National Commission for UNESCO, said:
“This represents a remarkable investment in the cultural and natural heritage projects taking place within the UK’s UNESCO sites. These landscapes, stories and places not only tell the UK’s own story, but form part of a globally recognised and shared heritage that belongs to everyone. Much of this heritage is cared for every day by dedicated local communities, volunteers and partners who safeguard it for future generations.
We are deeply grateful to National Lottery players for enabling this level of long-term support for the UK’s UNESCO sites and programmes.”
Anne Anderson, Chair, UK National Commission for UNESCO, said:
“UNESCO sites are exemplars of how heritage can strengthen identity, community cohesion and resilience in the face of 21st-century challenges.
Through Local to Global and our new study with Creative PEC, we are working with the National Lottery Heritage Fund to demonstrate how partnership, place and heritage can help build the conditions for peace and shape confident, resilient futures across the UK.”
As UNESCO reflects on 80 years since its establishment in wartime London, the UK’s record of investing in culture, nature, heritage, and community resilience shows the power of heritage to shape peaceful, sustainable futures.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s long-term commitment to UNESCO sites and living heritage ensures that the UK’s landscapes, stories, skills, and communities continue to inspire connection, at home and across the world.
Slate Landscapes of Northwest Wales (World Heritage Site)
The Heritage Fund has invested £25.5 million across the slate landscape, including £12 million for the redevelopment of the National Slate Museum as a living gateway to the Welsh language, craft skills and industrial heritage.
This investment will conserve the Grade I-listed Dinorwig workshops and revitalise the interpretation of slate culture for future generations. It will also create new skills pathways and community spaces rooted in north Wales’ global story.
Magna Roman Fort, Hadrian's Wall (World Heritage Site)
The Vindolanda Trust recieved a £1.625 million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant for the groundbreaking Roman Magna Project, a five-year research excavation that responds directly to the impacts of climate change on this globally significant World Heritage landscape.
The project will investigate these deposits before they are lost, while creating new opportunities for volunteering, skills development and community engagement through a purpose-built facility at the nearby Roman Army Museum.
Derwent Valley Mills (World Heritage Site)
A total of £22.8 million has supported the regeneration of this globally significant industrial landscape, including £9.4 million towards the award-winning Museum of Making. The museum was co-designed with local people to reconnect communities with the world’s first factory and the origins of the modern industrial age. It has since become a major hub for skills, creativity and local pride.
Biosphere and Geopark Projects
Environmental sustainability and landscape restoration are central to the Heritage Fund’s Heritage 2033 investment principles. Recent grants include:
Intangible Cultural Heritage
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder of Intangible Cultural Heritage across the UK. It supports all categories of ICH, including oral expressions, performing art traditions, social practices, nature, land and spirituality, craft skills, sports and games, and culinary practices. Selected examples:
Roma Empowerment Through Intangible Cultural Heritage: Glasgow’s Roma communities shared and recorded their cultural memories, including their demonstration of traditional and modern Slovakian Roma dances. This was complemented by a set of performances in a two-day Roma Cultural Festival that celebrated Scotland’s vibrant Roma and Traveller heritage.
Kerdroya: the Living Lexicon of Cornish Hedging: helped safeguard the craft of building Cornish hedges – an ancient boundary structure formed from grass-topped earth, sandwiched between two stone walls. Alongside training new hedgers, the project showcased the craft by building a labyrinth featuring 12 styles of Cornish hedging.
Local to Global: Investing in Capacity and Connection across the UNESCO UK network
The Heritage Fund also supports the Local to Global (L2G) programme, delivered by the UK National Commission for UNESCO. L2G strengthens collaboration between UNESCO sites, builds leadership and foresight skills, provides workshops for the network and supports regional clusters working together on shared priorities, including climate resilience, sustainable tourism, nature recovery, heritage skills and community-led governance.
Local to Global is a flagship programme by the UK National Commission for UNESCO, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, that strengthens and connects UNESCO Designated Sites across the UK.
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