Following the House of Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 22 January, the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will continue for one year from March 2025 with a cap of £25k per place of worship. Furthermore, the total amount available will be capped at £23m (last year £29m was spent). The DCMS received more than three hundred letters on the topic, and some three thousand letters were sent to MPs.
This is will be disappointing news for those with larger projects. Here in the Diocese of Chester, we have parishes with building projects of £250k and £500k whose grant submissions will be impacted and will need to fundraise to complete projects.
This is will be disappointing news for those with larger projects. Here in the Diocese of Chester, we have parishes with building projects of £250k and £500k whose grant submissions will be impacted and will need to fundraise to complete projects.
A spokesperson for St James', New Brighton said: “To a certain extent we are relieved that the scheme is continuing for another year, albeit it with new unwelcome restrictions. However, as churches need to plan, and budget, for major restoration projects over a period of years, the lack of long-term certainty of VAT relief will severely limit the confidence of churches such as St James’ to undertake any major work commitments. We are now having to review our restoration strategy going forward.”
Emily Gee, Director Cathedrals and Church Buildings for the Church of England explains: "We had a few days’ notice and prepared briefing notes for over 100 sympathetic MPs, along with a note signed by our lead Bishops for buildings and several key partners (National Churches Trust, Association of English Cathedrals, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, the Catholic Church, Historic Religious Buildings Alliance). You should be able to access the Hansard report on Thursday via this link Westminster Hall debate - What's on - UK Parliament and watch it via Parliament TV. DCMS Minister of State, Sir Chris Bryant, spoke at the end of the debate and announced that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will continue for 12 months with a reduced budget of £23m and a cap of £25k per place of worship per year. This was summarised in this written ministerial statement Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
" In many ways this is very welcome - as you know, there was a risk of no extension at all - and there were rich comments about the importance of churches and church buildings across the debate and from the Minister. There has been powerful joint working across the Church of England, with the wider sector and with parliamentarians throughout the work so far. Here is the Church of England’s response: Comment on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme announcement | The Church of England Our initial sense, as expressed by the Government, is that for many churches, the cap will not impact their bottom line.
However, we are very aware that the many churches and cathedrals will, of course, be very anxious as they have projects underway, or that they need to pursue, of a greater value than the cap will support; we will explore the detail in the coming days and help to discuss ways forward. We will also seamlessly continue the important work of engaging with the next Spending Review to make a case for a for a stronger, longer-term solution."
In a letter to campaigners, Trevor Cooper, Chair, and Becky Payne, Development Director of the Historic Buildings Alliance said: "Despite this widespread expression of concern, the decision is not what would we have wanted. One good thing is that this campaign has raised the profile of the future of our historic religious buildings. Very helpfully, Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts, and Tourism, said he wants to work with MPs on the challenge. We will all need to put our thinking cap on as to how to maintain momentum with government on this more general issue - if you have any ideas on this, do drop us a line."
Becky is at: hrb@theheritagealliance.org.uk. Trevor is at hrbchair@theheritagealliance.org.uk
Image: St James' Church, New Brighton which has undertaken restoration costing £1million in the last ten years.