Bishop calls for government to support historic churches as a vital part of holding communities together

The Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham, the Rt Revd George Cassidy, took part in a debate on historic churches in the House of Lords, yesterday ( Thursday, 7th December). He said: "My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Howarth, for initiating this debate. I speak not only as a bishop of the Church of England but as chairman of the Churches Main Committee, which represents some40 Christian denominations to the Government, particularly on legislative proposals affecting churches. With the increased understanding of 20th-century architecture and vernacular architecture, more non-Church of England churches may be listed in future. It is very good to see that the DCMS and English Heritage are increasingly realising the role that an apparently modest Cornish chapel, for example, can serve in the community.

So I too am concerned about the need for funding and the shortfall between the amount spent on repairs and that which needs to be spent. Without churches, central and local government could not deliver many of their worthwhile objectives. It is not unreasonable to ask for further financial help to ensure that the buildings that provide these services can be properly repaired and maintained to the high standards that informed conservation rightly demands.

I wish to stress the community benefit, which others have touched on, and the church’s desire to share in this work of serving the whole community. We have a long tradition. Our hospitals, schools and many social services spring from provision first made by many churches. Church buildings of all denominations and those of other faiths increasingly provide a base from which these activities can be carried out and, as the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Llandudno, hinted, the people to provide them.

In my diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, where 21 of our parishes are among the 10 per cent most deprived areas in England, 85 churches offer parental support in the form of toddler groups; 80 churches offer drop-in, lunch and other facilities for elderly and retired people; 26 churches, in a practical way, work with homeless people; 13 churches work with refugee and asylum seekers; 26 churches work with offenders, ex-offenders and their families; and 22 churches support people with drug and alcohol problems. If those volunteers had to be paid, even at the minimum wage, the effect on the public purse would be considerable. In Yorkshire alone, it was estimated in 2002 that the value of social work voluntarily carried out by church communities was between £55 million and £75 million a year, which is more than the annual shortfall we estimate on repairs to Church of England buildings.

Our emphasis today is on support for historic places of worship. These churches also embody the living nature of the historic environment. Over the past 20 years, there has been an increasing recognition that buildings are best preserved if they are loved, looked after and maintained by willing owners and that adaptation by an owner who cares for the building is better than preservation unchanged but lacking use. In almost every community the oldest, most complex and most interesting building still in its original use is likely to be the church.

The Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Reform Church, the Methodist Church and the Baptist Union of Great Britain all benefit from what is often misnamed the ecclesiastical exemption. All have a comprehensive system of control over their own buildings which balances the needs of care and conservation with the prime purpose of places of worship as centres of worship and mission. We are conscious of the responsibility that that places on each of these churches. It was good news last year when the Government firmly accepted that the exemption should continue and gave it their confidence. We now look forward to the DCMS proposals for changing the heritage protection regime and hope that the exemption arrangements will receive an equal vote of confidence in those proposals. But no system is perfect, and congregations, like virtually all building owners, are anxious to see simplification, an issue raised by the noble Lord, Lord Shutt. The Church of England is working with English Heritage and local partners in two cathedrals, Canterbury and Rochester, and in one deanery, Taunton, to see how we can work together to simplify the different consents and develop a more streamlined, user-friendly framework.

One further change due to take effect early next year is the Pastoral (Amendment) Measure under which a Church of England church can lease part of its building for other purposes. Previously that could be done only by making the church partially redundant, giving the negative if erroneous message that the church was closing. This new procedure will enable many churches literally to open their doors to good community uses while remaining places of worship. That can only help the increased sense of partnership that we wish to develop for the good of our buildings and communities.

I believe that in 50 to 100 years’ time history will judge us harshly and we will perhaps not be forgiven if, in our generation, we have failed to secure our wonderful heritage of historic places of worship and not enabled them to remain, as they always have been, vibrant places at the very heart of our communities.  I hope the Minister will give the House some encouragement in his response."

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