The Government has announced £40 million for church roof repairs.
Churchcare, the Cathedral and Buildings Division for the Church of England were delighted at the announcement of additional funding for the urgent repairs to church buildings, made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his 2015 Budget speech on 18 March. This follows the £15 million announced for the Roof Repair Fund in the 2014 Autumn Statement and £20 million announced for the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repair Fund. It is a welcome response to overwhelming demand, demonstrated when 1,900 responses were received from listed places of worship of all faiths and denominations across the UK during an eight-week application period.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund, which is responsible for administering the Roof Repair Fund, has confirmed that £15 million of the additional funding will be allocated in March along with the existing £15 million, amounting to £30 million worth of awards this financial year. The remaining £25 million will be allocated to a second round of funding, which will open later in 2015. More information will be made available on ChurchCare in due course.
The Bishop of Worcester, Rt Revd Dr John Inge, lead bishop for cathedrals and church buildings said: “We are enormously grateful to the Chancellor for the generous promise of more funding following the heavily oversubscribed Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund and First World War Centenary Cathedral Repair Fund. The nation’s churches and cathedrals are irreplaceable historic buildings which are important both to worshippers and the wider communities. This new funding will mean that many more parishes will be able to complete essential repairs to their churches to continue to serve their communities well into the future.”
For the Church of England press release, please click here.
Further information on the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund can be found here.
For further information on the National Heritage Memorial Fund, click here.