Owners and prospective buyers of some of Leicester’s historic properties could be in line for £1.5 million of funding to help them improve their buildings through a property renovation.
It is hoped that leaseholders and property owners will be able to access financial support to enable them to restore and repair building frontages, bring empty space into use or to reinstate previously lost architectural features, including decorative masonry, original windows and fencing.
Along with the grants, advice would also be offered to property owners, community groups and business owners to help them to restore and repair their buildings.
The project would last for five years and focus on parts of Peacock and St Martins Lanes, Wycliffe Street, Friar Lane, Millstone Lane, and New Street.
The council is planning to invest £450,000 on improving Greyfriars near the cathedral, and bosses hope this will lead to a further £1.1 million of funding being made available by the Heritage Lottery Fund. This money would then be used to provide the grants and advice services.
It is another piece of good news for the Greyfriars area, which is already preparing for a boost in visitor numbers thanks to the new King Richard III Visitor Centre and the 2015 re-internment of Richard’s bones at the cathedral.
The latest proposed scheme will include research workshops and training courses in a bid to teach people more about the character and historic significance of the area.
A decision on whether lottery funding will be granted should be announced in December of this year (2014). If the news is positive, the council then plans to use £450,000 already earmarked for the Leicester Economic Action Plan.
The council says it does not yet know exactly how much funding would be available for each individual applicant as part of the rejuvenation plans, but they hope that the whole scheme will link in with the huge and ongoing Connecting Leicester project. This already includes a number of multi-million pound initiatives, including Leicester Market’s redevelopment, Guildhall Lane and Applegate improvements and work on Jubilee Square and Cathedral Gardens.
Sir Peter Soulsby, the mayor of Leicester, said the Greyfriars area was one of the city’s ‘architectural treasures’. He added that the proposed project would lead to positive and long-lasting improvements which would allow the unique character, historical significance and Georgian architecture of the area to be shown off. This, he said, would allow ‘the huge potential’ of Greyfriars to be realised.
For more information on property renovations improving the value when you’re looking to sell your property, contact the team at Keywest Estate Agents Leicester today
