Grants for Places of Worship

A new chapter in HLF funding for places of

worship

Ian MorrisonHead of Historic Environment

St George’s, Bloomsbury

The story so far…

• Targeted funding for places of worship for over 15 years

• £231m to 2,500 places of worship through the scheme

• Overall HLF funding of £568m to 4,600 places of worship across the UK

Need for grants

Church of the Sacred Heart, Petworth

2010 survey of 100 grant recipients:

– 73% said the grant covered more than half of the repair costs

– 76% said repairs would not have been undertaken without the grant

– 30% said building would have closed without the grant

A long-term solution?

But the survey also found that as a result of the grant, only:

– a quarter of churches are definitely open for longer

– a quarter are clearly attracting new people to use the church

– around a half have not recorded any new visitors at all Church of St Mary, Stow

A new grants programme

• Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme focused on urgent repairs

• HLF majority funder since 2010

• Administration of the scheme transferred to HLF in 21013

St Michael & All Angels, Houghton-le-Spring

Consultation 2011

• Over 3000 responses from organisations and individuals

• Strong endorsement for a wide range of proposals

• Consultation supported by research

St Peter and St Paul, Bardwell, Suffolk

Agreement with priorities for targeted programmes

Q21a To what extent do you agree or disagree that the following continue to be the right priorities for our targeted programmes? (base=932)

35%

32%

28%

25%

31% 25%

37%

35%

35%

35% 14%

17%

16%

20%

18% 10%

6%

8%

6%

7%

3%

5%

3%

2%

2%

3%

3%

4%

3%

5%

5%

5%

7%

6%

6%

Places of Worship

Parks for People

Townscape HeritageInitiative

Landscape Partnerships

Young People

Strongly agree Tend to agreeNeither agree or disagree Tend to disagreeStrongly disagree No opinionDon't know

Views on the proposals for the Places of Worship programme

Q25: What are your thoughts on our proposals for supporting places of worship? How could they be improved? (all mentioned by more than 5%) (base=587)

6%

9%

11%

15%

15%

45%

Encourage more participation and learning

Funding is needed for educating and allowing access to history / funding focus elsewhere

A bigger priority (because of repairs need)

Support proposals / appropriate church preservation vital / important

Preserve heritage / target most noteworthy places / focus effort

A bigger priority (because of community use benefits) / partnerships / sustainability /

maintainance

• Recognition that repair is paramount

• Broaden access

• Need for new facilities

Strategic Framework 2013-18

A lasting difference…

Grants for Places of Worship

• Urgent repairs remain the priority

• Maximum grant of £250,000

• Retaining a focus on the smaller, single phase projects

• Around 15% for works to encourage sustainable use

• Encouraging wider public access

Outcomes

2 outcomes for GPOW:

• heritage in better condition (weighted)

• more people and a wider range of people will have engaged with heritage

Wells Cathedral Crypt

Heritage in better condition

• Urgent structural repairs = needed within 2 years

• Clearly identified in Quinquennial Inspection report

• Improvements to heating and electrical systems

• Making it easier to carry out maintenance

Communities outcome

More people and a wider range of people will have engaged with heritage

GPOW – ideas for activities

New interpretation

Real world or virtual guided tours and trails

Lecture series

Workshops and ‘hands on’ activity

Adult/schools learning

New volunteers

Activities linked to the repairs – skills taster days etc.

St Edward’s, Knighton

• Grant of £82,400 to carry out urgent repair

• Gave a fresh perspective as to how the church could be used

• Plans to update the guidebook

• Volunteers play a vital role

St Edward’s, Knighton

Church of St Andrew

• Grant of £45,000 (42%) enabled the church to continue its important community role

Church of St Andrew, South Warnborough

Church of St Swithun

Church of St Swithun, Sandford, Devon

Church of St Swithun

• Grant of £44,000 (44%) helped to broaden access to the church

Church of St Andrew, South Warnborough

Church of St Swithun

The University Church of St Mary, Oxford

Other key changes

• 4 opportunities a year to apply

• Pre-application support

• Decisions taken locally

• Longer-term view of financial need

• £150 million available over the 5 years

Questions?

Heritage Lottery Fund

Grants for Places of Worship

www.hlf.org.uk