Repair grants for places of worship in England

Summary

The scheme has been redesigned for 2008/09 onwards and a number of changes have been made. Please read this page and the application pack documents carefully.

This scheme is jointly funded by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund and gives grants for urgent repairs to listed buildings which are in regular use as public places of worship.

For application deadlines please see ‘Timetable’ below.

Grants are offered in two stages. Stage-one development funding enables projects to be planned and the repair costs established. Stage-two repair grants will only be offered once projects have been fully developed and the costs are known.

Our Priorities

There is a very high demand for RGPOW grants, so we are not always able to offer a grant to every project that qualifies for support. All applications are assessed against the scheme’s priorities:

Structural repairs
The main focus of the scheme is on urgent repairs required within two years, to high level elements of buildings such as roofs, spires, towers, associated masonry and rainwater disposal systems. Other urgent repairs to historic fabric at risk of loss can also be considered.

Professional fees and VAT which cannot be claimed back under the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme also qualify for grant [see www.lpwscheme.org.uk for details on that scheme].

Grants do not cover new works, alterations and improvements, building services, minor repairs, maintenance or work to contents, fixtures and fittings.

Projects where there is a lack of alternative sources of funding
In order to qualify for a grant under this scheme, we will need to be satisfied that you are not eligible for any other obvious sources of public or charitable funding, for example from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Single Regeneration Budget and specific funding (such as funding for coalfields or housing).

Supporting small-scale projects
Priority will be given to single repair projects which can be carried out in a single contract and have total costs (including fees and VAT) of less than £250,000.

Projects with total costs (including fees and VAT) of less than £10,000 will not normally be considered.

Regular maintenance
We expect work carried out with the support of our grants to be sympathetic to the character and importance of the building, site or landscape. We also aim to ensure that repairs are completed to a high standard and that the property in question is regularly maintained in the future in order to achieve high quality, sustainable results as well as value for money. Successful applicants will be expected to implement a ten-year maintenance plan and keep a logbook of maintenance carried out to their place of worship.

Guaranteed public access
One of the scheme’s main aims is to promote a wider appreciation of the historic environment and successful applicants will be expected to provide regular visitor access to the place of worship on at least 40 days of the year, outside the usual hours of worship.

If your project meets our eligibility criteria, we will assess it to establish whether:
• There is a financial need for grant;
• The work that needs to be done is required within two years;
• There will be long-term viability of the historic asset.

We cannot fund work to the place of worship that has begun before a written grant offer has been made and accepted.

Eligible Applicants

Any faith group, Christian or non-Christian is welcome to apply so long as it is a formally constituted religious organisation. Applications should be made by the body with legal responsibility for repairs to the building.

Eligible Projects

Under the scheme eligible places of worship must be listed and used for public worship at least six times a year. Cathedrals, places of worship in private ownership such as school or hospital chapels, and former places of worship which are no longer used for religious purposes are not eligible for this scheme.

EU Procurement Regulations
European Union procurement regulations mean that if more than 50% of a project is publicly funded applicants to this scheme will have to advertise and tender for any professional services (including your architect or surveyor) and building contracts. This applies to any grants offered under this scheme and will also include any grant received through the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme.

We suggest that you should begin this process once you have sent us your application. We will send you detailed guidance once we have received your application.

Timetable

We deal with applications in two competitive batches per financial year:

- places of worship listed grade I, II*, A, B or C - 30th June closing date
- places of worship listed grade II - 30th September closing date

Applications are accepted from 1 April up to the closing date of each batch. Any applications received after the closing date will not be assessed unless there is a fabric emergency which cannot be tackled without grant aid from the scheme.

We aim to let you know if your application is being taken forward for detailed assessment within two months of the closing date for the batch. Decisions on those cases which are taken forward will be made within six months of the closing date.

If you receive a stage-one development grant you will have up to twelve months in which to carry out your project development and claim a stage-two repair grant. You will have two years to complete your stage-two repairs.

Contact Details

This grant scheme is administered by English Heritage staff in our regional offices who can advise you whether your project will be a priority for support.We strongly suggest that you contact your regional office to discuss a potential application.

You can also request an application pack from your regional office which contains further guidance on the scheme. To find out what region you are in and the contact details for regional offices please see Contact Us.

The West Midlands Regional office has moved to:

8th Floor, The Axis
10 Holliday Street
Birmingham B1 1TG

Telephone: 0121 625 6820
Fax: 0121 625 6821
E-mail: westmidlands@english-heritage.org.uk

Available Documents

If you want to apply for a grant under this scheme, you will need to complete the Repair grants for places of worship application form. This can be downloaded either as a locked Word document or in PDF format.

The Word version of the application form can be completed on screen. It can also be saved on your computer. It must be printed then signed and dated by hand.

Repair grants for places of worship application form WORD 2008Application form Word