New £15m National Heritage Memorial Fund Announced: Listed Places of Worship – Roof Repair Fund

On the 4 December 2014, the £15million government-funded Listed Places of Worship: Roof Repair Fund opened for business.

Congregations across the UK responsible for looking after listed places of worship can apply for money to address urgent roof repairs to ensure these historic buildings are weathertight, safe and open for use.

Organisations, trusts and congregations of all faiths and denominations can apply for a grant from £10,000 to £100,000 to meet the costs of urgent repairs to roofs and rainwater disposal systems. Limited funding can also be provided for structural investigations; specialist reports and bat surveys.

The fund was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 3 December 2015. It is administered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) on behalf of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

To be eligible for funding buildings must be listed and used for public worship. Places of worship that have received a previous repair grant from English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Heritage Lottery Fund and/or other Lottery distributor, and where that project is not yet finished, are not eligible to apply.

The closing date for applications is noon, Friday 30 January 2015. Decisions will be announced in March 2015.

There is only one opportunity to apply to The Listed Places of Worship: Roof Repair Fund. The applications require the input of a Conservation-accredited Architect which include mandatory information requirements including but not limited to a specialist report(s), specification / scope of work and costs.

For further information on how to apply can be obtained from Finlason Partnership who are highly-experienced in working with grant funding agencies and assisting Congregations in the preparation of grant submissions.