THE Government has announced £230 million for heritage buildings, including listed places of worship, as a part of a £1.5-billion funding package to “save” cultural venues across the country from closure.
But listed places of worship will not be exempt from paying VAT on essential repairs, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed on Wednesday.
Most of this £1.5-billion fund will support museums and capital projects in arts venues — £760m and £425m respectively — while £230 million is earmarked to guard and preserve heritage buildings, including places of worship.
Within this can be a recent £92 million scheme, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, which is able to replace the £23 million Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) “in recognition of the necessary role religious heritage buildings play within the UK’s national story”, a government announcement said.
The announcement expresses the hope that it will “bring these necessary buildings into line with other heritage assets” and “give them access to the identical level of monetary support from the federal government as historic houses, monuments and other heritage sites”.
The recent scheme will, nevertheless, not allow for individual places of worship to reclaim VAT on essential repair and maintenance costs.
Also throughout the £230 million, £75 million shall be available in grants for historic buildings in need of repairs and conservation, and £46 million for the Heritage Revival Fund to support communities “to take control of and take care of” local heritage, bringing buildings back into public use.
The announcement follows the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, last yr, which made no mention of the LPWG scheme (News, 25 November 2025). The 2025/26 LPWGS will close on 31 March, or once the £23m budget has been reached, whichever is earlier, the Government said.
Responding on Thursday, the chair of the National Churches Trust, Sir Philip Rutnam, welcomed the brand new capital funding scheme for religious heritage. He said: “We have been campaigning for this for a while, and we stay up for understanding how the brand new scheme will operate.
“Churches depend overwhelmingly on volunteers so the scheme will should be easy, accessible and predictable whether it is to be a hit.”
He expressed concern, nevertheless, that listed places of worship would need to bear the complete cost of VAT on repairs. “This brings to an end a system that has operated successfully for over 20 years. It implies that in future local people could have to lift money not simply to repair roofs and towers but to pay a 20 per cent tax to the Government.
“Museums and galleries offering free admission don’t need to pay VAT on repairs, but in future churches will. We call on the Government to finish this unfairness and never to expect local volunteers to pay these extra taxes.”
The Church of England’s director for Cathedral and Church buildings, Emily Gee, said on Wednesday that the top of the LPWGS would mean added pressure on local fundraisers and can be a drain on other sources of funding. “We will work with the broader sector and the Government to see how that burden might be alleviated,” she said.
The Conservative MP for Droitwich and Evesham and shadow DCMS Secretary Nigel Huddleston, posted on X to thank those that “backed our calls for the federal government to reverse its cuts to the Listed Places of Worship Scheme”.
He wrote: “By cutting funding and placing a cap on grants for repairs and maintenance, the federal government’s previous policy had put many historic religious buildings in danger. They play an important role in our communities and our nation’s heritage.”
The Conservative MP for Meriden and Solihull East and Shadow Education Minister, Saqib Bhatti, also posted on X: “We fought. We won. Our churches matter. After the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was cut, I challenged the PM directly at PMQs. Thanks to pressure from activists, campaigners & Conservatives, the Govt has now u-turned and announced a £92m Places of Worship Renewal Fund.”
The chairman of Historic England, Lord Mendoza, said that the heritage funding was a transparent signal that the Government recognised that the nation’s historic places mattered to people. “We have just unveiled firm evidence that historic places are vital for our mental wellbeing and folks feel profound emotional connections with them,” he said.
“This funding will act as a lifeline for heritage across the country, from places of worship to ancient pubs and can give the heritage sector a well-needed boost.”
