The half-billion lottery effect

He was called the grey man of politics; he was dogged by Black Wednesday; and he was once satirised as a boring man pushing peas around a plate.

He was called the grey man of politics; he was dogged by Black Wednesday; and he was once satirised as a boring man pushing peas around a plate.

But former Prime Minister John Major left a legacy that has now blossomed beyond all expectations.

The National Lottery, set up under his watch in 1993, has provided, through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), half-a- billion pounds to Scotland's culture and heritage.

Not many of the thousands of people attending the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, or any of the 1700 historic buildings given a new lease of life by the HLF in Scotland, would probably queue to give thanks to Mr Major, but it was the arrival of the lottery and the Heritage Lottery Fund in 1994 that led to not only the half-billion pounds spent in Scotland, but a £4bn spend on more than 26,000 projects across the UK.

Whether you regard the National Lottery as a genuine chance to win a fortune, a harmless pound spent once a week on a dream of wealth or a near-fruitless gamble, the proceeds from it have undoubtedly transformed the landscape for the arts and heritage sectors in Scotland and the UK at large.

It is hard to imagine another way the country could have found £50m to purchase artefacts, archives and paintings for museums, galleries and libraries across Scotland, or to conserve natural landscape equivalent to 64,000 football pitches, or, crucially, to attract another £550m in match funding from other organisations.

There are many who may feel such funds could have come direct from government and not as the results of millions of fruitless bets: but in a nation where only small percentages of spending go towards culture, such vast sums would be unlikely to be found in the annual Budget.

Yesterday, the half-billion-pound mark was reached with the announcement of a grant for £43,600 for a project in Inverclyde that will allow 300 schoolchildren to learn more about the engineer and inventor James Watt, who was born in Greenock in 1736.

The James Watt - Head of Steam project will allow local children to find out more about his life and the society and customs of the 18th century through workshops in drama, dance and visual arts, in a project organised by Inverclyde Council, Scottish Opera and James Watt College, and the local regeneration company, Riverside Inverclyde.

Colin McLean, head of the HLF in Scotland, acknowledged the milestone of half-a-billion pounds yesterday, as well as the legacy of John Major ("It was his idea, he is the champion of the National Lottery and he made it happen") but said such community projects may be more common in the future for the HLF.

A drop in the popularity of the lottery, and a huge amount of funds diverted to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, means that large lottery cheques such as those given to Glasgow's Riverside Museum (£18.1m), the Royal Museum of Scotland (£17.7m), the John Murray Archive (£17m) and Kelvingrove (£13m) may become a thing of the past.

Mr McLean said: " We are already spending less this year than we have in the past, and there has been a general decline in the past five or six years. For 2009 we will have £180m to spend in the UK in total. Only a few years ago, that total was £330m. The pain will be felt in the bigger projects. The days of the very big grants could be over - they will be very difficult for us now."

Mr McLean said he was quietly proud that no project funded by the HLF in Scotland has gone under financially since it was greenlit or during its development process.

This, he says, is because of the "very robust" tests the HLF apply to the issue of sustainability when they peruse the business plans of potential projects.

Indeed, the HLF turned down the first request made for redevelopment money made by the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in 1997 - a bid for £9.5m was knocked back and Glasgow City Council had to rethink its plans for the popular museum.

Other lottery-funded capital projects have failed, of course, but they were funded by different parts of the National Lottery cake. In Scotland, the Big Idea, the £13m science centre in Irvine which opened in 2000 with money from the Millennium Commission, closed three years later. In Doncaster, the early days of the Earth Centre (which cost £100m) were troubled, and the £15m National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield lasted only six months.

Although those hunting for "white elephants" may find poor game in the HLF in Scotland's history, some projects have proved troubled - money given towards a Scottish National Photography Centre in Edinburgh has yet to be realised in a museum, and several council grants to the Lighthouse in Glasgow in 2000 - which was redeveloped with help from the HLF - were controversial at the time.

Yesterday, Mr McLean said that without the HLF, and by extension the lottery, much of the successful projects would never have happened.

He said: "In many cases there would be no alternative to our funds. And of course we very rarely put 100% of the funds into any project - what we allow is for other partners to come into play, by often being the first money put down on the table."

The figures published yesterday by the HLF are impressive: 1700 historic buildings revamped, 30 town centres regenerated, the restoration of 22 urban parks, 55 "spaces of learning" created (and 81 education posts) and the restoration of 17 historic boats, including the Waverley paddle steamer. It has even saved lives - of animals: six species in dangers of extinction have been preserved, including the black grouse, the red kite, the chuff and the red squirrel.

But Mr McLean said the smaller grants made as much difference as the big figures - small grants such as the £8300 to save the Sgeir Bhuidhe Lighthouse in Port Appin, Argyll, which was to be taken away from the community by the Northern Lighthouse Board.

After a local campaign (involving some anonymous repainting of the lighthouse in colourful shades) and a swift green light from the HLF, the main lantern has been restored and reassembled on a site beside Port Appin Village Hall and is now a small magnet for visitors to the area.

Iain McNicol, vice-chairman of the Appin Historical Society of Port Appin, said: "It has been a great success, and at the time (in 2002) it seemed relatively straightforward to apply for the money.

"Most of the help the community could give was "in kind" - 2000 hours in total of work - so without the HLF grant we really would have been working from scratch and it might have taken a long time to raise that kind of money.

"It has turned out very well."

Top 10 Heritage Lottery Fund projects

Riverside Museum £18,140,000
The Zaha Hadid-designed museum will be the new home for the Museum of Transport and a key part in Glasgow Harbour's re development.

Royal Museum of Scotland £17,762,000
The project will transform the Victorian building with more objects on display.

John Murray Archive £17,000,000
The grant helped acquire the archive, one of the most important collections of 19th-century letters and documents, for the nation.

Kelvingrove New Century Project £13,171,000
The Art Gallery and Museum was relaunched and went on to have record visitor numbers.

Marr Lodge £10,276,993
A grant helped purchase and manage the magnificent Marr Lodge Estate to ensure the conservation and restoration of its internationally important geology, flora and fauna.

Glasgow Green £8,821,000
Refurbishment and conservation of the green.

Botticelli: Virgin adoring the Sleeping Christ Child £7,687,000
The fund helped the National Gallery of Scotland purchase the piece.

Titian: Venus Rising from the Sea £7,600,000
Painting was saved for the nation thanks to a grant from the fund.

Playfair Project, Edinburgh £7,390,000
An underground extension now links the National Gallery of Scotland with the restored Royal Scottish Academy building, which provides display space, lecture theatre, education facilities, IT and visitor facilities.

Newsplan £5,192,000
Lottery cash helped fund a five-year national programme to microfilm historical files of local newspapers which were in peril.

10 smallest Heritage Lottery Fund projects

The Big Cousland Dig £6300
The community in Cousland will undertake a series of archaeological investigations to uncover the history of sites within the village.

Edinburgh Theatre Playbill Collection £6250
The acquisition of 19th-century Edinburgh theatre playbills.

Ross & Cromarty Heritage Fair £8200
A two-day event, showcasing the natural and cultural heritage of the area.

Sgeir Bhuidhe Lighthouse £8300
A project to restore and reassemble on a site beside Port Appin Village Hall the lantern section of the redundant lighthouse.

Windmill Stories £8300
A competition to write a short story for children, based on objects in Dumfries Museum. The winning stories were published and recorded for visitors to listen to.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh acquisition £8500
Two silver dessert forks by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, marked DWH and hallmarked Glasgow 1902, were purchased for the New Museum of Scotland.

19th Century Tiree Families £9000
Project to create a computerised family history resource using genealogical software and a database facility enabling searches for families.

Stitch it £9900
Clydebank Secondary children designed and produced large-scale garments to create an impact as free-hanging sculptural objects.

Natural Talent Bursaries £10,433
The project has helped in delivery and recording of the UK biodiversity action plan, providing training in conservation/land management.