The government has announced plans to speculate £1.5 billion into historic buildings in England at the danger of closure, a significant slice of which is able to go towards places of worship.
The funds shall be distributed over a five-year period and are aimed toward restoring “national pride in community assets”. Just over half of the funding (£760 million) will go towards museums fighting maintenance costs. Significant funds have also been committed to libraries and artistic arts projects.
As a part of the project the federal government said it had earmarked £92 million for a Places of Worship Renewal Fund. The government said this fund would replace the prevailing Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which is currently value £23 million.
Places of worship may also have the opportunity to use to a separate £75 million fund for repairs and conservation of “at-risk” historic buildings, and a £46 million Heritage Revival Fund to assist communities “take control of and take care of local heritage and produce buildings back into public use”.
It comes as churches prepare to lose VAT exemption on repairs from April, which critics have warned will jeopardise maintenance and restoration projects and significantly add to costs.
Emily Gee, Director for Cathedral and Church buildings for the Church of England, broadly welcomed the news but expressed concerns in regards to the abolition of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
In an announcement, she said, “We warmly welcome the Government’s Places of Worship Renewal Fund and the knowledge of this investment in repairs and enhancements for eligible parish and cathedral church buildings.”
She added that the Church was also pleased by the federal government’s recognition of the wide selection of spiritual, cultural, historical and social advantages that churches bring to their local communities.
“However we’re very concerned that the tip of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme – after greater than 20 years – will mean added pressure on local fundraisers and inevitably 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 continued.
“We sit up for seeing the main points and understanding what it means in practice for the Church of England’s 12,500 listed church buildings.
“We will proceed to work closely with other church buildings’ charities and funders, Historic England and other denominations and faiths, in addition to the Government, on this vital period of transition.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who announced the scheme, said the programme would “keep the doors open and the lights on” in hundreds of local institutions that are “a part of who we’re as a nation”.
