National Lottery Heritage Fund process

The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) is a two stage process for major projects like this one.

A first round approval means that the National Lottery Heritage Fund has allocated an initial smaller grant to enable the railway to develop a full round 2 bid.  This development phase involves appointing a full professional team including architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, interpretation designers, activity planners, evaluation consultants … and a project manager.  This team is tasked with developing the designs in consultation with the railway and for producing the myriad documents needed for the Round 2 submission. A first round approval does not guarantee success in the second round. 

A second round pass will mean that the full grant is awarded so the railway can deliver the ambitious plan over a three to four year period once permission to start (more necessary paperwork) has been granted. The same professional team normally continues through into the delivery phase.