The government has published the details of £300 million in grants and £100 million in loans as part of the second round of The Culture Recovery Fund. Most relevant to places of worship is the £36m Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage, administered jointly by Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund with grants available from £10k to £3m. The focus is very much on re-opening and welcoming people back – whether visitors, communities or commercial partners.
The Church of England was involved in consultations about the structure of the scheme, and the guidance has a specific section on places of worship.
If you look after a listed place of worship, you can apply for funding towards the costs necessary to transition towards full reopening of your listed building to the general public and engage the wider community with your heritage. You cannot apply for funding to undertake work that would be categorised as promotion of your faith or capital projects, such as major repairs.
The fund will be open for applications from 7 January 2021 and will close on 26 January 2021, with any funds granted to be spent by the end of June 2021.
For more information on the Fund: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/culture-recovery-fund-heritage-second-round
The national Church Buildings Council has produced a specific guidance document to assist potential applicants, which is available below:
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