The Listed Places of Worship (LPW) scheme, which provides a grant equivalent to the cost of VAT on repair and maintenance work and associated professional fees on listed churches, has been extended for the next financial year.
The scheme had been due to end in March 2025 but yesterday Heritage Minister Sir Chris Bryant MP announced it will continue until March 2026, albeit with new conditions. There will be a cap of £25,000 which can be claimed per building, although this can be spread across multiple claims.
The Government says £23million will be available for historical buildings which include churches, synagogues, mosques and temples, for restoration work.
Liz Kitch, Head of Church Buildings, said: “I welcome the temporary extension of this scheme, it has had a huge impact on the upkeep of church buildings across the country and within our diocese.
“However, the capping of the scheme will affect parishes undertaking larger projects, and the long term future of the scheme remains uncertain. We will continue to lobby alongside our national church and sector wide colleagues, for a robust, long-term solution to funding for church buildings.”
Liz added: “There are areas of clarity needed on detail around the cap itself and how this will work in practice – we will communicate these to all parishes as soon as we hear further from national church.”
Parishes who decide to accelerate their planned projects to be able to claim this grant are asked to contact the Church Buildings team to let them know, so they can manage demand.