One in five UK churches faces being lost
Pastor Dale Morgan
One in five UK churches faces being lost*
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 9:55PM BST 10/05/2008
Britain will lose up to a fifth of its churches in the space of a
generation unless action is taken to halt the decline, according to new
research.
The Government spends just £25 million a year on church repairs - far
less than the £200 million needed
The number of churches is forecast to fall from 48,500 now to only
39,200 in 2030.
Today church leaders warn that the crisis threatens to devastate
parishes, depriving local communities of important focal points.
Conservationists said Britain was in danger of losing a large slice of
its built heritage.
Responding to these concerns, the Telegraph is launching a campaign to
save thousands of the nation's churches from disappearing forever.
The threat is clear:
* Two churches are being closed down every week
* At least £1 billion is needed to repair all listed places of worship
over the next five years
* Yet the Government spends just £25 million a year on repairs – far
less than the £200 million needed
* Churches claim that local authorities discriminate against
church-based community projects, reducing income still further
* Planned EU changes to VAT rules for repairs could see churches having
to find another £10 million every year.
But the decline is not inevitable. Increases in government grants to
repair churches and to back their community work, and minor changes to
planning law, could head off the crisis.
The Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, Bishop for Urban Life and Faith, today backed
The Sunday Telegraph's Save our Churches campaign, saying it was
scandalous that the Church of England has to devote a sixth of its
annual budget to maintaining its historic buildings on behalf of the nation.
Bishop Lowe accused the Government of lacking imagination in taking
advantage of church buildings.
"We don't want to just preserve these buildings, but to open them up.
They should be used seven days a week, rather than for just a few hours
on a Sunday," he said.
Around 13,000 of the country's 14,500 listed places of worship are
Church of England premises, yet the Church currently receives only
around £40 million in repair grants – half government money from English
Heritage, half from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Congregations provide a further £70 million toward maintenance of their
buildings, leaving a £75 million shortfall. If the gap isn't filled
soon, churches warn that large numbers of buildings will fall into
disrepair.
Last year, Gordon Brown promised in the Spending Review to examine what
help the Government could give to churches, which he acknowledged
remained "at the heart of so many communities".
Hugo Swire, the shadow culture secretary, yesterday lent his support to
the campaign and called on ministers to work closer with churches to
come up with a long-term solution.
"Churches are not only very often architecturally distinguished, but
they also play a key role in rural life," he said. "Church closures rip
the heart out of the local community, but it is quite clear that they
can not be expected to sustain this huge bill."
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) also backed the campaign.
Kate Gordon, its senior planning officer, said: "Places of worship
account for much of our finest heritage, yet maintaining these buildings
is often prohibitively expensive."
Leading church figures claim that local authorities discriminate against
appeals from churches for money for community projects, cutting off a
revenue stream which could indirectly help pay for the maintenance.
One senior member of the General Synod – the Church's parliament – said
churches faced "barriers of prejudice".
Crispin Truman, the chief executive of the Churches Conservation Trust,
said: "Churches need to be adapted so that they are relevant to their
communities. It must be done sensitively, but there must be small
sacrifices if we are to save our heritage for the future.
"They can be an agent for social change and a place for people to meet.
It is crucial that we keep them and help prevent society from fracturing
even further."