Devastating tax relief cut risks dealing deadly blow to Britain’s sacred heritage sites_L
A relief that has been renewed ever since Gordon Brown introduced the measure has had its days officially numbered.
Nothing lies more at the heart of our country’s culture than its historic churches. In Canterbury, you will find the oldest church in England, St Martin’s. It’s still used for worship as it has been since Augustine arrived in 597.
Our churches have seen it all, good and bad. They’re places of celebration – from weddings and christenings to coronations and jubilees. They’ve stood strong through civil war, plagues and pandemics.
Through our deepest national tragedies, they’ve been not only a place of comfort but response. On December 21 1988, when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, it was Tundergarth Church that was the base for the police and Army. The funeral services of several victims took place there and three were laid to rest in the churchyard.
Last year marked 36 years since the attack. People from around the world still come to pay respects to those who died. More than 50,000 have signed the visitors’ book at the remembrance centre.
But all of this could have been lost forever. The church was in such poor condition that water was leaking through the roof and plasterwork was crumbling. Parts of the building were hazardous. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of repairs were needed to keep it open.
So where do historic churches like Tundergarth go when they need help? The truth is that in Britain – unlike continental Europe – it’s local people who have to find the money. And the one government scheme that has been helping has just been heavily cut.
The Listed Places of worship grant Scheme was introduced in 2001 by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor. It allows listed places of worship to reclaim VAT for repairs on their buildings. It has been renewed by every government ever since, and over 13,000 churches have benefitted.
Without it, churches would simply have to raise 20% more to cover the cost of repairs and pay that to the Treasury. The Government has now decided only to renew the scheme until March 2026 and to cap the amount that can be reclaimed at £25,000. This simply does not provide enough certainty or support for historic places of worship.
They need more time to plan and deliver major repairs, which typically take longer than a year. And any big work – like a new roof – is bound to cost more than the cap.
The result is that many churches are now going to have to raise money to pay VAT to the Government on top of everything else.
Take a church like St Mary Magdalene in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, one of the oldest parish churches in Britain with some of our earliest stained glass. It’s in desperate need of £3million for repairs and the interiors are in danger. Newark was fiercely contested in the English Civil War. It endured three sieges in support of the King. The church was at the centre of this. It survived that war but now it’s fighting for its survival.
Or Christchurch Priory in Dorset. It needs a new roof as rain is pouring in and damaging the heritage inside. It’s home to 800-year-old misericords that would be treasures in any museum. But their home is the local church, free to visit and enjoy but now under threat.
It’s a similar story across Britain. Nearly 1,000 historic churches in England need repairs so urgently they’ve been officially designated as “at risk”. To see how serious things can get, look north of the border, where the Church of Scotland is planning to close 30-40% of its churches, or Wales, where up to half of them could close.
At the National Churches Trust we do what we can. The charity supports over 250 a year with grants for repairs, and provide advice to many more.
We know how much these places mean to local people, not just for their heritage but for the provision of vital community services. Most food banks are based in churches, as well as youth groups, mum-and-toddler groups and clubs for the elderly.
It’s social infrastructure like this that keeps people going through tough times – we need more of it, not less. But the Government has made things harder by making churches pay VAT on big repairs. If you want to protect our nation’s heritage and secure its future, make sure your MP knows you want to see churches properly funded and the Listed Places of Worship Scheme made permanent, and its cap removed. Before it’s too late.
