The future of your church building

Church buildings audit

“…..buildings are generally a valuable spiritual and community resource, but this needs to be locally determined, as does finding ways forward with other partners for their upkeep and development.” (Moving On in Mission and Ministry, 2003)

As part of the review of Mission Action Plans, after two years of working together Mission Communities should carry out an audit of their buildings, to discover how best they may enable the work of mission and ministry in their area, and to asses the budgetary implications. A Church Buildings Audit Toolkit has been produced to assist Mission Communities in undertaking this audit.

Festival churches

The festival church model operates across the country. It is based on two principles:

• Doing less, but doing it better – festival churches no longer hold regular formal worship, but instead concentrate on a small number of ‘festival’ services.
• More people involved – encouraging the wider community to be involved in caring for the church building and churchyard.

Becoming a festival church is not a sign of failure, it is a recognition that some churches do not have the resources needed for the building to host regular formal worship. These church buildings remain at the heart of their communities and continue to be a place for prayer and reflection. They may have an additional community or cultural use. Ideally, a festival church should still be open on a daily basis. More information is available on the Association of Festival Churches website.

If you are interested in exploring the festival church model in your Mission Community, the first step is to speak to your Archdeacon.

Closure

Churches, like other buildings, can outlive their original purpose. Those no longer required by the Church of England for regular public worship may be closed by a scheme under the provisions of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011. The Measure also sets out procedures for settling the future of these buildings. The main emphasis is on finding suitable alternative uses for listed buildings or those within conservation areas which are often important parts of our national heritage.

A flow chart explaining the process for the closure for regular public worship of a church building can be downloaded here: Flow chart: Closing a church building

Church closures are managed through the Church Buildings Strategy Committee (CBSC). Please contact Alice Risdon, Church Buildings Officer and Secretary to the CBSC, as early as possible if you are considering the closure of your church.

Each diocese is responsible for seeking new uses for closed church buildings in its area. This work is carried out by the Church Buildings Strategy Committee, a sub committee of the Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Committee. Please click to read the CBSC Constitution and Mission Statement.

The final decision about the future of closed church buildings rests with the Church Commissioners. They are helped by the advice of the Statutory Advisory Committee of the Church Buildings Council. Before a proposal for a new use, demolition or preservation can take effect the Commissioners (through their Closed Churches Division) must prepare and publish a draft scheme and consider any representations.

The Church Commissioners distribute the proceeds of the sale of closed churches and sites. At least two-thirds of the proceeds are returned to dioceses for the support of the living Church and are used for purposes such as clergy stipends and housing and new church buildings – a sum of approximately £26 million since 1969. A one-third share goes towards the Church’s share of financing the Churches Conservation Trust or helps with the maintenance of churches pending a decision on their future.

Further detailed information on the closure process can be found on the Church Commissioners website.

Historic England have published a guide to New Uses for Former Places of Worship. This provides advice on the conversion to new use of historic former places of worship. It is primarily intended to be of benefit to new or potential new owners or occupiers of such buildings. It will also provide clarity for local authorities on the approach taken by Historic England when advising on proposals for reuse.

If you are considering the options for your Church Building, a good starting place might be to work through the steps in this Church Buildings Route Map.

Funding

Loans have been made available from the Diocesan Building Fund to support Mission Communities and parishes in support of the Moving on in Growth agenda by providing funds to enable:

• the review and rationalisation of a Mission Community’s building stock
• the re-ordering of church buildings (both consecrated and non-consecrated) to better provide for church and/or community use
• the repair and improvement of church buildings including heating systems.

For further information about this fund, please click here to go to our Funding page.