New ideas for churches

Churches should be opened up for new and different uses by communities to help build a more sustainable future for the buildings, an independent report has recommended.

The Taylor Review: Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals says that congregations should be empowered to involve more local people in enjoying, valuing, using and caring for their churches.

The review panel, chaired by Bernard Taylor and made up of representatives from the Church of England and heritage bodies, was set up last year to find new ways to maintain Church of England buildings and look at the potential for different funding models.

A total of 12,200 Church of England churches are listed and since 1999 there has been £2.6 billion invested in repairs and new build projects, with Government and lottery sources providing £810 million of this investment.

Bernard Taylor, Chairman of the English Churches and Cathedrals Sustainability Review, said:

"Church buildings are an important and a much-loved part of our national heritage and form an integral part of our sense of identity and community. However, despite the hard work of many groups and volunteers around the country, they face complex problems of maintenance and repair, and are not always well used and supported.

Increased use and helping communities in their broadest form to see the value and potential of the local church is the key to the church building becoming more self-sustaining and ultimately ensuring its long term survival. The solution must be local and there is no instant solution, but these recommendations represent the next steps towards a more sustainable future for these important buildings."

Heritage Minister John Glen said:

"I welcome this report and want to thank Bernard Taylor and the whole panel for their work. Our church buildings are a major part of our heritage and it is vital that they are cared for and protected. This report has shown how valued these buildings are and how many thousands of volunteers work so hard on their upkeep.

This review is an important first step to building a more sustainable future for thousands of church buildings across the country, and we will look at these recommendations carefully."

The review panel welcomed the work by the Church of England to simplify its processes and make it easier for churches to get consent to share use of their buildings. Guidance is also being prepared by the Church of England to support models of community ownership and responsibility such as the creation of local Trusts and Friends.

The Rt Revd John Inge, Bishop of Worcester and lead bishop on cathedrals and church buildings, said:

"I welcome the findings of this Review. Our 16,000 churches are the jewel in the crown of our built heritage. They exist, as they always have done, to serve their communities. This is seen through daily acts of worship, celebrations of the joys of life and commemorations of its sorrows. They are, though, not just places of worship for their communities: they are social hubs for people of all ages, spaces to offer hospitality and vital services to the vulnerable; churches increasingly are the glue in community life.

I have enormous respect for the millions of volunteers and church workers who through the generations have cared for our churches.

The strategy proposed in this report to support these vital buildings will, I pray, help to protect their fabric and equip them to serve anew in the future.

The Review makes clear how churches and cathedrals are vital community assets in need of support nationally. We look forward to working with funding partners to put the proposals into place."

The review panel highlighted the best practice of many churches and of volunteers around the country, with buildings adapted and used for cafes, playgroups, and in some cases NHS and post office services. The panel said it wants to see more innovation of this kind.

The report can be read here and the DCMS press notice here.

Design Training course, Sheffield University on 11-12 September 2018 

Empowering Design Practices are inviting expressions of interest for this free, two-day design training course.

The course is open to groups looking after historic places of worship and aims to help groups who are at the early stages of rethinking the physical elements and use of their building to develop design skills and knowledge. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the project.

Get involved

New Fund Launched to Tackle Loneliness (England)

Charities and community groups in England can now apply for a share of close to £9 million aimed at tackling loneliness by building strong social connections and welcoming communities.

The money is from the £11.5 million Building Connections Fund. Almost £9 million will be distributed by the Big Lottery Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, and will support projects already working to prevent or reduce loneliness to increase their impact. Grants of between £30,000 and £100,000 will be available for projects which reach out to people of all ages who feel lonely or isolated, and encourage them to take part in activities, helping them to feel more connected. This could include making the most of community spaces, improving access to transport, using digital technology, or joining up local services to have a bigger reach. The closing date for applications is the 24th August 2018.

There but not there

"There But Not There reminds us of those who served in WW1 and did not return home. I believe that alongside each symbolic figure stands the spectre of five others who did return and found themselves so changed by what they had experienced that life for them and their families would never be the same again. There But Not There stands as a powerful symbol for us to not forget them too."

-Lt Gen Andrew Graham CB CBE, Chairman of Trustees, Combat Stress

The installation of 51 transparent seated military figures in Penshurst Church over Remembrance 2016 lit a touch paper in the psyche of all who saw it. There But Not There aims to place a representative figure of those who were lost into their place of worship, their school, their workplace or wherever their absence was keenly felt.

There But Not There will be the defining centenary commemoration of the end of the 1914-1918 war, installed where the men and women came from across the country, back in the communities they left behind.

This project aims to Commemorate, Educate and Heal