Simon Jenkins says something must be done about Britain’s listed churches in the context of their only occasional use by dwindling congregations, especially in rural areas (The decline of churchgoing doesn’t have to mean the decline of churches – they can help us level up, 7 April). As a former chair of a diocesan advisory committee (the Church of England’s equivalent, under the “ecclesiastical exemption”, of a planning department) and currently chair of a local authority’s planning committee, I may be uniquely placed to comment.
The idea that local authorities should be empowered to take over churches for community use has a fatal flaw. Like the C of E’s parishioners, councils have no money to look after listed buildings that are expensive to maintain, impossible to heat and difficult to subdivide, while maintaining the heritage interest.
Warrington has its own Grade I-listed town hall to throw money at. We have a marvellous leisure attraction in Walton Hall and Gardens, a gift from one of the town’s brewing families, but if it were offered now, we’d turn it down as too expensive to run.
George Osborne as chancellor did come up with a grant scheme for repairs to historic churches, but ecclesiastical buildings now compete with other heritage assets for government largesse.
There will be no voluntary “church tax”. Saving the nation’s heritage is a national responsibility. Whether that is by giving more help to congregations to maintain the churches, or getting them into appropriate secular use, it is only the national government that can save this bit of our historic fabric.
Rev Canon Cllr Steve Parish
Warrington, Cheshire
• I fear that Simon Jenkins is viewing our parish churches through a rosy glow. I am the treasurer of a parochial church council in a small rural village. It is one of a group of four, sharing one vicar. There are two services a month, plus choral evensong once a month, rotating through the four.
The local authority district is very large and very rural: I can think of another seven or eight similar-sized churches within a radius of 15 miles. The congregations are dwindling, mainly because of an ageing population. Our church dates in part from the early 14th century, is Grade I-listed and damp, with bits threatening to fall off. The congregation averages 12, apart from festivals such as Christmas and Easter, but we are required to find about £7,000 yearly to send to the diocese, and a large proportion of the fees from weddings and funerals is also sent to the diocese. The electricity supplier charges a £2-per‑day standing charge, although the power is used only for lighting, the organ and the kettle.
Enable the district or parish council to fund it, Jenkins says. Local authority funding has been cut to the bone, and it would be hard to justify. Most of these villages have, in addition to the church and probably a chapel, a splendid village hall – new kitchen, toilets, car park – probably funded by the lottery. The halls are well-used by skittles teams, keep-fit classes, book clubs, flower shows, birthday parties and dances, and are supported by fundraising events.
Jenkins says allowing parish councils to take on responsibility for church buildings would not cost Michael Gove’s department a penny. In my view, support for our ancient buildings should cost Gove’s levelling up department much more than a penny. Devolve funding to parish or district councils and churches will go the way of Sure Start centres and many other local facilities. I am at a loss to suggest a solution, but this is surely not it.
Name and address supplied
• If Simon Jenkins is interested in bringing redundant or underused buildings back into use for community benefit, he should consider another national treasure that has been seriously impacted by changes in habits. The trend towards drinking at home means many pubs have been lost over the past decade, and that trend looks set to continue. Like churches, they draw local people together. So, Simon, forget ageing congregations and focus on promoting pubs as community resources.
Les Bright
Exeter, Devon
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
