Swaffham bids for cash to continue heritage project

Swaffham is hoping it will be successful in getting lottery money to continue its heritage improvement project

A town has bid for £250,000 towards repairing its high street's historical buildings and traditional shopfronts.

Swaffham in Norfolk has applied for the money from National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

If successful, it would be combined with a £300,000 grant from Historic England's High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSAZ).

The move came shortly before a previous four-year project ends in March.

Breckland Council has said the funding would be used for 10 projects to cover repairs to historical buildings and to restore traditional shopfronts.

The three-year project would also seek to improve the look and feel of the historic marketplace with the aim of boosting footfall and supporting local businesses, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Breckland Council has said it can provide an additional £150,000 to support the regeneration, while Swaffham Town Council will put in £50,000 and the Norfolk and Norwich Festival has earmarked £15,000 to go towards community events.

The previous project, which started in 2019, has been hailed as "highly successful" by Breckland Council.

It included £200,000 repairs in 2023 to the Assembly Rooms in Swaffham.

The interior of the Assembly Rooms, in Swaffham has been refurbished

A similar scheme has been proposed for Thetford, which is set to benefit from £250,000 of funding.

A public consultation is currently open to decide how this money will be spent in Thetford.