A NEW city-wide project that aims to celebrate Leicester’s heritage is offering groups and organisations the chance to apply for grants to explore untold local stories.
Thanks to National Lottery Players, Leicester has been given funding to develop the first stage of an Inclusive Heritage programme for the city.
The long-term project will aim to give a voice to Leicester’s neighbourhoods, ensuring that more people feel involved in, and represented by, local cultural activity and heritage initiatives.
As part of this, local organisations are being invited to apply for a grant of £11,000 to support a Community Heritage Champion. While grants must be held and administered by an organisation, they are created with individuals who bring a passion for people, history, and their neighbourhood in mind.
The funding will be used to deliver tailored support and development to an individual Community Heritage Champion working within that organisation. Successful applicants will work with the Heritage Places team from May to December 2026.
Helen Sharp, Heritage Places programme manager said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, the Heritage Places programme will enable us to establish projects to uncover and share stories that are often missing from traditional heritage narratives.
“Community Heritage Champions will play a vital role in connecting with neighbourhoods across the city and exploring what heritage means to the people who live there. This could include traditions at risk of being lost, ways of life that may be overlooked, or stories rooted in everyday experiences such as food, fashion, music and culture.
“By listening to and working with Leicester’s diverse neighbourhoods, we can help ensure that inclusivity is central to the city’s heritage—now and for generations to come”
There are currently 10 Community Heritage Champion grants available.
Applications can be made online on the city council’s website at Leicester’s Inclusive Heritage Project.
Closing date for applications is Monday 2 March 2026.
The project is part of the National Heritage Places programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It aims to help people connect with local heritage, build pride in place, and support participation by ensuring a wider range of stories, experiences and neighbourhoods are reflected in heritage activity.
Using a dedicated funding pot of £200 million, the national scheme aims to transform 20 places around the UK by 2033.