Monument Management Fund

The Monument Management Fund (MMF) provides small-scale, direct funding to landowners and managers of scheduled monuments. It supports positive management works which improve the condition of the monument, or reduce any risks it may face.

We typically offer support in the region of £100-£3,000.

Our MMF programme can support a wide range of projects. To be eligible, projects need to have not yet started and:

• clearly relate to a designated scheduled monument or similar site

• offer good value for money

• be able to demonstrate that they are deliverable

Many of the grants are identified through our casework, including through the field officer monitoring programme. However, the fund is also open to owners and managers of sites to apply to us directly.

The programme is open to all people and organisations (private and commercial) to apply, but the applicant should have a direct connection to the management and maintenance of the site.

The grant is primarily aimed at the management of scheduled monuments, although in exceptional circumstances can sometimes offer funding towards other designated and undesignated sites.

We targets sites where improvements can be made, so the funded project must demonstrate a benefit in improving the condition of the site and/or in reducing the risk that it faces. Condition and risk of scheduled monuments are measured on a nationally agreed scale.

The distribution of funds relates to the applications that come forward, but it is our aim that we demonstrate benefit across Scotland’s 32 local authority areas.

Depending on the type of historic environment asset your project relates to, there may be additional eligibility criteria to be met. Please check the main programme guidance for more detailed information.

The MMF programme is a discretionary fund and available funds are limited. This means that we may not be able to support all the projects that apply. We aim to direct our funds at the sites that would most benefit and where the impact would be the greatest. This may mean that sites which face a greater risk will likely be given priority.

The types of projects that we typically fund include:

• Vegetation control such as removal of trees that threaten either upstanding structures or below-ground archaeology, or the removal of invasive gorse or bracken.

• Urgent or emergency consolidation of masonry.

• Replacement of warning signs to reduce likelihood of damage to a site

• Inspection survey reports from a conservation-accredited architect or engineer.

• Installation of stock or rabbit fences

• Conservation and repair of carved stones

We cannot fund:

• Projects that do not directly relate to the management or maintenance of the site. We would recommend consideration of other HES Grants for funding support of these types of projects.

• Works undertaken by the owner or manager themselves unless demonstrated that they undertake works of this type on a commercial basis and can demonstrate value for money (i.e. through seeking competitive quotes).

• Works that have already been undertaken (i.e. retrospective funding)

Scheduled monument consent

Note that many of the above works, if carried out within the designated area of a scheduled monument, may require a separate application for scheduled monument consent (SMC). Your case officer can advise on this. Any SMC requirement will be made clear in the offer letter.

To apply, please contact hmenquiries@hes.scot and request an application form.

After completing and submitting your application form, a case officer will be assigned to your case. They will contact you to discuss your project and the likelihood of receiving funding support.

Quotes and contractors

If taken forward, you will need to provide quotes for the proposed works from a relevant contractor. In most cases, the contractual arrangement for the works would remain between the applicant and their contractor.

If the works are costed at less than £1,000, a single quote is usually sufficient. If the works quoted are considered inappropriate or do not offer good value for money, your case officer may ask that you source a further quote.

For works of £1,000 or above, three quotes should be sought.

In strictly limited circumstances fewer quotes may be accepted. For example. a contractors may have been contacted and did not supply a quote, or there were not sufficient contractors available. However, it must still be demonstrated that at least three quotes were sought, In these circumstances, your case officer would provide additional advice and your application will be paused whilst we seek approval to proceed.

Offer letter and purchase order

Once we have agreed to support your application, an offer letter will be sent to you.

Your offer letter will detail the works for which funding is offered, together with the amount of funding offered. The offer is open for acceptance within the time period specified in the offer letter. Works must be completed by the date indicated on the letter.

Only once this letter has been received and accepted by you in writing is the grant confirmed. We will then forward your details to our finance team, who will set you up on our payment system and issue with a purchase order for reference purposes.

Review and payment

Once the works are complete, your case officer will visit the site to inspect the works, or review reports or photographs. If the works have been completed to their satisfaction, we will release payment to you. Payment is normally by BACS transfer.

Please keep in touch regarding your timetable for the works being complete, so that we can arrange a prompt site visit and payment.

The MMF programme operates on a compensatory basis, where we compensate owners or managers for expenditure that they outlay in the process of undertaking the supported works. This means that the funds would be released to you and you would arrange payment to your chosen contractor. 

There may be circumstances where your contractor expects payment to be made by you before we are able to pay the MMF grant.

We will publish an annual report on our website summarising projects which have received funding.

This will identify the amount awarded and the organisation/company who were awarded funding. In the case of individual applicants, these will be recorded as ‘private individual’ and no private information will be shared.

It will also include a summary of the works undertaken and the benefits the work will have, along with photographs. We will ask for permission for any copyright images and copyright will be clearly acknowledged.