The National Lottery Heritage Fund has pledged £200m to support the heritage assets of 20 UK towns and cities.

The Heritage Places initiative will invest in the areas over 10 years.

The places were selected based on their heritage assets, and their condition; the level of deprivation and other government funding they had received.

Areas in receipt of other funds scored more positively because the Heritage Fund said it could have a greater impact when its funding complements other investments.  

The first nine have been announced, with the rest to be revealed as part of the Heritage Fund’s next three-year plan.

After Torbay in south Devon was selected, the executive director of Torbay Culture, Martin Thomas, said the 10-year partnership was a ‘genuine step change in how to support local heritage’.

The Heritage Fund said it would seek projects with the potential to attract wider investment and support schemes that address issues such as regeneration, sustainability and employment.

It said the initiative would involve local heritage, cultural, community and civic organisations.

National Lottery Heritage Fund chief executive Eilish McGuinness said: ‘Our Heritage Places is designed to support in challenging times, to achieve even greater impact, and commits our funding for the long-term.

‘Celebrating and preserving our history, architecture, landscape and culture is not just important for its own sake, it plays a vital role in connecting communities, bringing joy and supporting economic regeneration.’

The first nine areas set to receive funding are:

• Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon

• County Durham

• Glasgow

• Leicester

• Medway

• Neath Port Talbot

• North-East Lincolnshire

• Stoke-on-Trent

• Torbay