Morecambe Bay, the Glens of Antrim and the Lomond Hills are among spectacular UK landscapes earmarked for financial support.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announced that £18.3 million has been set aside for the schemes through its Landscape Partnerships programme.

The eleven applicants who have passed the first stage of the process will now have to submit a more detailed proposal to secure the funding.

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The investment, which is set to attract a further £8.1 million of match funding from other sources, will enable the conservation of distinctive landscapes and provide other benefits such as apprenticeships for disadvantaged young people and courses on traditional rural practices such as drystone walling.

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of HLF, said: “Landscapes speak to the heart, inspiring people in all sorts of ways: be it poetry-writing, architectural design or even just the pleasure of looking at a beautiful view. Sadly, they can often be taken for granted which is why the Heritage Lottery Fund, as one of the UK’s biggest funders of the natural heritage, believes the way forward is to put local communities in the driving seat so they can take care of the places that are the backdrop to their daily lives.”

(BMcN/GK)