Support for our church buildings is an essential part of our mission. We want our buildings to be places of hospitality, hope and outreach, and to be the home of activities valued by our wider communities as well as worship.
There are a number of support packages available to enhance church facilities and supporting mission driven community engagement. If you would like to know more, talk to Tim Lewthwaite, Church Buildings Support Officer at cbso@newcastle.anglican.org.
Minor Repairs and Improvements Grant Fund
A total of £134,000 has been designated by the Church Commissioners for minor church repairs and improvements. A panel will allocate these funds, prioritising:
- Churches in areas of high deprivation
- Churches demonstrating clear need and vision
Applications have now closed and we await an announcement from the Archbishop’s Council on the potential of further funding to continue grants for the next Triennium. Any new grant funding opportunities through the MR&I will be announced through diocesan channels and detailed on this page.
Net Zero Quick Wins Grant
Churches looking to reduce their carbon emissions are now able to apply to the Diocese for a Net Zero Quick Wins grant.
These grants are available to help fund small scale decarbonisation projects, such as new LED lighting, pew heaters, insulation or updating electricity supplies.
The Quick Wins grant scheme is part of the diocesan and wider Church of England Net Zero Carbon programme, which aims to equip, resource and support all parts of the Church to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
Contact Tim Lewthwaite at cbso@newcastle.anglican.org for more details.
Deadline for the next round of applications is 21 May.
Application form for Net Zero Quick Wins Grant.
Applicants may also wish to refer to the Eligible Projects Overview.
The Places of Worship Renewal Fund
The Places of Worship Renewal Fund, replacing the Listed Places of Worship Scheme, has been delayed until after the local elections. Sign up to the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance mailing list to receive an invitation to an Historic England briefing when it is announced.
It is important to have a strong round of applications ready when the scheme opens, which we expect to be soon. It’s advised that listed churches considering making an application will be able to proceed promptly if it has to hand:
- A current quinquennial inspection
- Photographs of the building
- Photographs of the area where work is needed, for which the grant is sought
- A letter of support for the application
- Assurance that any consents needed are granted or soon will be
- The basis on which the cost of the project has been estimated
- Assurances that the proposed works can be delivered in a timely way
The application process will start with an expression of interest stage, so that only places of worship with schemes that are eligible and prepared proceed to a full application. For this first round it is important that projects can be delivered promptly on award of a grant.
There will be further rounds of the scheme over the next four years, and it is possible there may be a further round this year, so places of worship that are not ready to make an application in the first round should begin to prepare for these as soon as details of the scheme are known. Information about the Fund should appear here once it is launched.