Supplementary Memorandum by the Church
Heritage Forum (HIS 24(a))
The Dean of Chelmsford and I were very glad
to have the opportunity of appearing before the Committee on 9
February and appreciated their interest in the contribution which
church buildings can make to urban regeneration. The Committee
may also wish to take account of this further update together
with further reflections on one of the Committee's questions.
In the context of encouraging wider use of church
buildings, we referred to the draft Measure about to go before
the Church of England's General Synod which would give scope,
for the first time, for churches in use to enter into leases with
other bodies. Hitherto that has only been possible by making the
part of the church which is to be leased formally redundant, with
all the negative connotations that involves. The only alternative
which has been available, for the new occupier to be granted a
licence, has not provided sufficient certainty for potential users;
and, significantly in context of regeneration, has not provided
sufficient certainty to satisfy potential funders. During the
debate at Synod several examples were quoted of the difficulties
caused by the present situation, and the benefits which the proposals
would bring to church and community alike. The draft Measure was
strongly supported. This debate relates to the Measure's first
consideration (equivalent to a Parliamentary "Second Reading"):
it now has to pass through the rest of the legislative process,
but the principle is clearly supported.
In this context we would also like to expand
on our comments about your experience in Norwich, where you found
many churches shut. As we pointed out at the time, Norwich includes
large number of redundant churches no longer in the ownership
of the Church of England but in the care of the Norwich Historic
Churches Trust; it has to be acknowledged that the sheer number
of redundant historic churches in Norwich does create a challenge
for the Trustees in finding appropriate uses and keeping the churches
open. The way forward has to depend upon resources as well as
commitment. However, we understand that there are currently proposals
to form a new Trust in Norwich to deal holistically with the historic
buildings owned by the City Council, and to integrate their approach
to education and access.
Churches still in use raise the same challenges.
Ideally we would wish to see them all regularly open—and
indeed the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, who insure most Church
of England churches, now advise that (after a parish has made
sure that valuable items are securely locked away or security
measures taken) a church which is open and in which people are
active is much more secure than one which is locked.
But this advice has to be tempered by what is
practical and comfortable for the parish. The sad fact is that
in many urban areas an open church will be seen as an invitation
to vandalism, and manning the building (with at least two people
at a time, for personal security) may simply not be feasible for
a small congregation who themselves are hanging on in a difficult
environment. Nevertheless we understand that there is an increasing
recognition among the congregations of Norwich churches still
in use for worship of just how important it is to keep church
buildings open, and an increasing wish to make them available
for the community.
More generally the Open Churches Trust, and
some local tourist bodies, now increasingly encourage initiatives
to keep churches visited and open, and we warmly support these.
But in many of the areas in which the Committee is most interested
the community, and the local environment, may need to make strides
in regeneration before an open churches policy even becomes possible
to contemplate. This is another example of the importance of collaborative
efforts to enable these buildings to come to life—and indeed
where streams of funding from secular bodies specifically to help
with the maintenance or running costs involved in keeping church
buildings open could be extremely helpful in freeing up the energy
of the congregation to use their building more for the wider community.
We hope that these further comments will be
helpful.
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