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Inspired! A FUTURE FOR HISTORIC PLACES OF WORSHIP

Inspired! Newsletters

  • PDFOctober 2008 (120 Kb)
    This autumn sees the launch of our new funding stream for historic places of worship Support Officers. Read about this and other recent work
  • PDFApril 2008 (127 Kb)
    In this edition of the Inspired! newsletter we set out our priorities for work with places of worship over the next three years as well as highlighting some of our recent work.
  • PDFSeptember 2007 (95 Kb)
    Now that the CSR has been postponed to autumn 2007 we wanted to tell you about what has happened since the launch and some of our future plans.

Inspired! Campaign

The Inspired! campaign was launched in May 2006, with the aim of making a case to Government for more support for those who manage and maintain historic places of worship. Five solutions were put forward, which English Heritage, Government and the denominations and faiths could collectively pursue in order to stem the rising costs of repairs and ensure a sustainable future for the buildings.

Solution 1:

Crypt Chapel, St Mary Magdalene  Re-write out-dated list descriptions so that congregations can better understand the heritage value of their buildings and plan acceptable changes to make them ‘fit for purpose’ for the 21st century.

Solution 2:

Help congregations to help themselves by appointing advisers who can offer support and practical assistance in making the most of buildings.

Solution 3:

Fund a maintenance scheme to enable congregations to get their basic maintenance done efficiently and economically.

Solution 4:

Create a simple light touch grant scheme for small repair projects which are currently ineligible for EH/HLF grant.

Solution 5:

Safeguard the Churches Conservation Trust and other trusts which look after historic places of worship after they have gone out of use, by increasing the funding available to them.

The campaign was publicly supported by the major denominations with listed buildings and by partners in the heritage sector. By the end of 2006 over 3,000 of the campaign postcards had been sent in by members of the public to show their support. There was also tremendous interest in Parliament, with short debates in both Houses, a well-attended reception following the launch of the campaign and an exhibition in the Palace of Westminster in summer 2007. 

The future of Inspired!

Following the Government spending review in autumn 2007, which set our funding until March 2011, English Heritage Commissioners agreed that extra resources should be put into work with places of worship in order to implement some of the Inspired! solutions. While the funding specifically requested in the campaign could not be provided in full, the proposed budget will allow the highest priority elements of the campaign to be addressed.  We are happily in a position to be able to budget for this additional resource, without reducing the annual repair grants allocation.

The priorities on which we will focus are:

1. Capacity-building in the form of support officers who can advise congregations on the care of their buildings (Solution 2)

2. Maintenance schemes to make the upkeep of their buildings easier for congregations to arrange and more cost-effective (Solution 3)

The response of a wide range of organisations and individuals concerned with the future of historic places of worship, in formal and informal consultations, has helped us to prioritise these two solutions and we are grateful for their contribution to the debate.

The two solutions together provide the best way we can contribute to the long-term sustainability of historic places of worship. 

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