The £4 million Water, Mills and Marshes project will preserve and promote heritage sites in the Broads National Park
Heritage sites in and around one of the largest inland waterways in the UK – The Broads – will now be preserved.
The £4 million Water, Mills and Marshes project has been given the go ahead following the confirmation of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The grant of £2.5 million is in addition to £1.5 million from other contributions.
The money will be used to identify, preserve and improve the heritage, environmental and archaeological assets within the Broads.
It will also provide opportunities for the public to learn about this unique landscape, and how they can contribute in a practical way towards its upkeep.
This could include helping to restore historic mills to surveying wildlife habitats.
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Trails, guided walks, events and exhibitions will be created, and there will also be a small grants scheme introduced so local people can apply for funding for Broads heritage projects of their own.
The chief executive of the Broads Authority, John Packman, said it was vital the heritage of the Broads was protected.
“So many people have contributed a huge amount of time and resources to get us to this point and the heritage of the Broads has rightfully been recognised as one that should be cherished and nurtured,” he said.
Explaining the importance of National Lottery support, Robyn Llewellyn, head of Heritage Lottery Fund East of England, said: “The Broads National Park is Britain’s largest protected wetland and third largest inland waterway, and one of the most beautiful and recognisable landscapes in the UK.
“It also contains a fascinating array of built, industrial heritage in the form of drainage mills, ancient dykes and listed buildings. I’m delighted that thanks to National Lottery players we have been able to fund this project to save this precious drained marsh landscape, conserve threatened habitats and species, and to reconnect people with the natural heritage all around them,” he stressed.