FORMER University of York vice chancellor Sir Ron Cooke has been handed a key role in deciding where heritage lottery funding should go in Yorkshire.

He has been appointed chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Yorkshire and the Humber Committee, responsible for making decisions on regional applications for between £100,000 and £2million.

Since 1994, more than £500million of money from National Lottery players has been distributed to over 3,370 projects in the region.

York Press:

The projects range from the restoration of historic buildings, including York Minster, and improvements to museums and galleries to makeovers for town parks and the purchase of works of art and treasured artefacts. They also include conserving the natural environment and promoting community involvement in conserving local social histories

Sir Ron Cooke, a former chair of York Civic Trust, the Reinvigorate York project and the Yorkshire Arboretum at Castle Howard, said the region’s heritage was now in much better shape thanks to the many HLF projects over recent years.

“Money from National Lottery players is an incredibly important source of funding in the region, and heritage means so much and so many different things to people and communities across Yorkshire,”he said.

“There are still many heritage projects coming forward, big and small, and the number of inquires is rising. I‘m looking forward to working with our new head of region and the team to achieve as many of them as funds allow.”

Sir Ron Cooke, who was Vice Chancellor in York from 1993-2002, has extensive experience working within the academic, environment and built heritage sectors.

He has been President of the Royal Geographical Society, a Trustee of the National Museum of Science and Industry and a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

His interests in heritage range from landscape analysis, through the study of the quality of the public realm in heritage cities, to the decay of heritage buildings.

He is an Honorary Freeman of the City of York, a former Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

His appointment takes effect from April 1st and his first meeting is in June 2017.

The HLF Committee is made up of leading figures in the heritage sector across the region chosen for their wide range of experience and local knowledge. Its patch includes North, South and West Yorkshire, as well as Hull, the East Riding and North Lincolnshire.