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To: Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The impact of cuts to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

On behalf of the Christian Funders’ Forum, a collection of over 50 Christian grant making charities, we are writing to express our serious concerns over the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

While news that the scheme has been extended by one year comes as some relief, the £25,000 grant cap and the lack of commitment to the scheme beyond March 2026 is deeply concerning.

Collectively, the Christian Funders’ Forum awards grants totalling £70 million per year and we are at the forefront of church conservation, restoration and renewal.
Members of the Christian Funder Forum provide grants to hundreds of churches each year, of all denominations, enabling vital conservation, restoration and community outreach to take place. Churches are so much more than buildings. They are living communities supporting people of all faiths and none, providing a vast range of community services from food banks to mental health support. According to the National Churches Trust, churches provide £55 billion of social value in the UK.

Just one example of a project that is now in jeopardy is St John’s Chatham in Kent, a stunning Waterloo Church, located in the heart of Chatham.

St John’s was consecrated in 1821 but closed in 1997. Thanks to the support of numerous partners the building reopened in 2021, attracting 1,500 visitors in the first nine months alone, following the addition of a small kitchen and a disabled access loo. Despite the poor state of the church, the congregation has grown, with over 200 people a week attending, while the surrounding area also underwent regeneration. The church is now in the midst of a major regeneration project, with thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, members of the Christian Funders’ Forum and other funders. The development will see the reopening of a previously closed church following the complete restoration of the building, the addition of a lift, the creation of a concert venue and new working spaces for up to 10 small businesses creating a community hub. The newly imposed Listed Places of Worship grant scheme cap will now leave this project £100,000 short of its funding target, and at a critical stage in its delivery. The Church will now have to cut vital elements from its project or find alternatively funding sources which are already exhausted.

This is just one example of hundreds of projects now impacted around the country.

It is in everyone’s interests that churches should continue to maintain buildings that sit at the heart of their communities and are often of significant architectural value. The work of churches in addressing social need is undervalued and unrecognised. It is already extremely challenging for churches to meet the demands of their communities and generate adequate income to maintain their buildings which is why the Listed Places of Grant Scheme is beyond vital.

We ask that the Government considers the devastating impact on churches and wider communities if the scheme were to be withdrawn in 2026. The Christian Funders’ Forum advocates for the continuation of the scheme and the removal of the £25,000 cap.