Memorandum submitted by the Association
of English Cathedrals
1. This submission is made by the Association
of English Cathedrals which represents the 42 Anglican cathedrals
in England. The cathedrals range from those of international importance
(such as St Paul's Cathedral) and those in World Heritage Sites
(Canterbury and Durham Cathedrals) to those in smaller cities
such as Blackburn, Bradford and Southwell. Of the 42 cathedrals,
38 are Grade I and four Grade II* listed. The primary purpose
of a cathedral is to be a place of Christian worship but it is
also often the oldest building in continuous use in its surrounding
area and of significance to the heritage and culture of the area
it serves.
WHAT THE
DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA
AND SPORT
SHOULD IDENTIFY
AS PRIORITIES
IN THE
FORTHCOMING HERITAGE
WHITE PAPER
2. The cathedrals of England make a significant
contribution to the life of the nation. Their social and economic
impacts are shown in the recent ECOTEC report (The economic and
social impacts of cathedrals in England, June 2004, copy attached).
Research showed that cathedrals are responsible for direct visitor-related
spend of £91 million and for a total spend of £150 million,
which are significant economic outcomes for the surrounding areas.
Cathedrals are iconic buildings and play an important role in
their local environments, often indicating the centre of cities
and providing facilities that enable communities to gather and
mark events of national and local importance.
3. It is our contention that the DCMS should,
as a priority, work with cathedral authorities to safeguard the
future of the buildings that provide focal points for communities—the
structure of the Church of England ensures that everyone who lives
in England lives in an area covered by a cathedral—and act
as major attractions for UK citizens exploring their own country
and overseas visitors.
THE REMIT
AND EFFECTIVENESS
OF DCMS, ENGLISH
HERITAGE AND
OTHER RELEVANT
ORGANISATIONS IN
REPRESENTING HERITAGE
INTERESTS INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE
GOVERNMENT
4. The organisation with which cathedrals
have had the most contact over the last 15 years has been English
Heritage. The Cathedrals Grants Scheme has been helpful in enabling
substantial repairs to be carried out on cathedral buildings.
£42 million of grants have been awarded. £31.6 million
was given in the first 10 years of the Scheme, and was matched
by cathedral contributions of £109 million. It is our view
that English Heritage recognises the significance of cathedrals
and tries to assist their work but lacks the resources to do its
job properly. The recent diminution in the amount available for
grant-aided repairs to the fabric of cathedrals, as a result of
severe budgetary constraints within English Heritage, has had
a serious impact on the ability of cathedrals to maintain England's
priceless heritage.
5. It is our experience that the DCMS follows
a largely secular agenda and frequently ignores cathedrals and
churches in discharging its responsibilities. For example, the
section of the Department responsible for tourism does not have
any contact with cathedrals, either through the Association of
English Cathedrals or the Pilgrims Association (an organisation
which advocates best practice on tourism and education issues
but with a wider membership than Anglican cathedrals), despite
their significance as tourist attractions. It is also frustrating
to deal with the DCMS because of the fragmented nature of the
areas for which it is responsible. Although the DCMS is responsible
for issues to do with the listing of buildings of historic importance,
it has no input into planning processes (which are dealt with
by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) so there is a lack
of joined-up thinking about conservation and planning issues.
Cathedrals regard music in cathedrals and the maintenance of the
centuries-old unique English Anglican Choral tradition as cultural
and heritage matters, although due to the involvement of children
in music there are also educational issues. The DCMS may have
a remit for culture but has none for education so, when cathedrals
wish to work with Government on music, it is very difficult to
make any progress. These are two examples of the many concerns
of cathedrals that cross different government departments. In
our opinion, the Government is not organised in such a way that
it is capable of delivering effectively and efficiently on heritage
matters. The disorganisation also reflects the low priority given
to heritage matters by the Government.
6. The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided
assistance to 12 cathedrals for a variety of projects, including
city centre improvement schemes (joint grant awards to cathedrals
and local authorities), exhibitions and works of art. Assistance
has also been provided for the construction of new buildings in
cathedral closes for visitor facilities and for enhancements to
the facilities of the buildings themselves but has not been provided
for conservation work. The process of obtaining an HLF grant is
bureaucratic and expensive in both time of cathedral personnel
and fees paid to specialist advisors. HLF staff do not always
fully understand the context within which cathedrals operate.
The recent rejection of a grant application by St Paul's Cathedral,
seeking £6 million to complete a £40 million restoration
project of which the balance of the monies has been raised privately,
because St Paul's was said to be too exclusive, despite its doors
being open to everyone regardless of their background, is indicative
of the problems experienced by cathedrals.
THE BALANCE
BETWEEN HERITAGE
AND DEVELOPMENT
NEEDS IN
PLANNING POLICY
7. Cathedrals are located at the heart of
their cities, in areas where the need to balance preservation
of heritage buildings with development of vibrant city centres
is a daily concern. The Cathedral Churches are often surrounded
by Cathedral Closes which themselves contain a number of listed
and scheduled buildings, for which the cathedral authorities are
responsible.
8. The 2005 amendment to the Care of Cathedrals
Measure 1990 now requires local authorities to note the views
of cathedrals about planning proposals which affect their setting.
Cathedrals would like the Government to take an active role in
promoting the interests of cathedrals by requiring local authorities
to make specific reference to cathedrals in their Unitary Development
Plans (UDPs) and Local Development Frameworks, and to develop
policies for protecting the setting and environment around them.
9. Currently, it is left to the discretion
of local authorities to take account of cathedrals when developing
local planning policies. For example, the City of London is protective
of the setting of St Paul's Cathedral and requires developments
in the City to meet strict criteria on height and mass so that
new buildings do not spoil sightlines. The London Borough of Southwark
does not mention Southwark Cathedral in its UDP, although the
Cathedral is the only Grade I listed building in the Borough.
It has no planning policies to protect the setting of the Cathedral.
The Mayor of London also ignored the existence of the two Anglican
cathedrals within his area when drawing up his planning policies.
10. Cathedrals are very aware of the need
for communities to thrive and will actively engage in consultations
and negotiations that will ensure that a viable balance between
conservation and new development is established.
ACCESS TO
HERITAGE AND
THE POSITION
OF HERITAGE
AS A
CULTURAL ASSET
IN THE
COMMUNITY
11. Cathedrals are open 365 days a year.
They are open in times of national crisis and celebration and
act as focal points in their communities. They provide unthreatening
spiritual spaces for people. In many cases they are also the largest
buildings available for public use for some distance and act as
venues for concerts, lectures, degree ceremonies and other such
events.
12. Most cathedrals are open to the public
free of charge but a number, particularly those attracting the
most tourists and suffering commensurate wear and tear, charge
for entry. Entry fees are charged to cover the costs of staffing
and fabric repairs necessitated by significant visitor numbers—not
for profit. All cathedrals are financially independent and rely
on their own resources for survival. Government revenue funding
for cathedrals, similar to that available to some museums, would
make charging for entry unnecessary and would ensure that those
wishing to learn more about the role of cathedrals in the development
of England's culture and heritage can do so, and enjoy them whatever
their financial resources.
13. Cathedrals offer facilities for visits
by schools. Most cathedrals employ education officers who work
within national curriculum guidelines to provide tours, trails
and workshops which supplement classroom learning. The topics
covered relate to religious education and history but also to
a wide variety of other subjects—cathedrals are immensely
rich learning resources.
14. Cathedrals also offer opportunities
for adult learning, providing guided tours for groups and openings
to develop skills through volunteering. Very significant numbers
of volunteers assist in keeping cathedrals open for the public
to enjoy.
15. Cathedrals are the main sustainers of
the English Choral tradition, running choirs involving adults
and children, both boys and girls. The English Choral tradition
is a unique part of English culture but one which has suffered
decline in recent years as choirs in parish churches have become
less common. Cathedrals maintain the tradition and produce music
of very high standard week in, week out. For those participating,
cathedral music is a unique educational experience; singing as
part of a professional team develops many transferable skills.
The majority of cathedrals now have girls' choirs as well as the
more traditional boys' choirs. Just under half of cathedrals'
boys' choirs are formed of boys attending different local schools
and three quarters of girls' choirs are formed of girls attending
different local schools. Of those children attending choir schools,
all are recipients of financial assistance from the relevant cathedral
and some also receive scholarships from the Department for Education
and Skills so that all children with the ability and desire to
sing are able to do so, regardless of parental financial status.
In 2001, the total cost to cathedrals of providing music was approximately
£7 million.
FUNDING, WITH
PARTICULAR REFERENCE
TO THE
ADEQUACY OF
THE BUDGET
FOR ENGLISH
HERITAGE AND
FOR MUSEUMS
AND GALLERIES,
THE IMPACT
OF THE
2012 OLYMPICS ON
LOTTERY FUNDING
FOR HERITAGE
PROJECTS, AND
THE FORTHCOMING
DECISIONS ON
THE SHARING
OF FUNDS
FROM LOTTERY
SOURCES BETWEEN
GOOD CAUSES
16. The only direct assistance given by
the Government to cathedrals is provided under the English Heritage
Cathedrals Grant Scheme. Due to cuts to the English Heritage budget,
the amount available for grants is now £1 million each year
and this has to be shared between 41 Anglican cathedrals (Christ
Church Cathedral, Oxford is not eligible), two Royal Peculiars
and 18 Roman Catholic cathedrals in England, 61 buildings in total.
The maximum grant to a cathedral in any one year is now £50,000
which represents between 25 and 70% of a project's cost depending
on a cathedral's perceived financial status. This level of funding
is completely inadequate and fails to contribute a realistic sum
towards the ongoing repair and maintenance of cathedral buildings.
For example, York Minster faces a bill of £23 million for
repairing its East front and medieval East Window, and the estimated
five year bill for repairs to all cathedrals is over £95
million.
17. Assistance with repairs and maintenance
is also provided by the Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme administered
by the DCMS under which cathedrals can reclaim VAT on the costs
of repair and maintenance work (but not the significant and vital
professional fees associated with such work). Almost all cathedrals
are registered for VAT and are able to recover between 25% and
90% of VAT in the normal course of business; the Grant Scheme
is of greater benefit to those cathedrals which are normally only
able to recover 25% of VAT than those who only bear 10%.
18. One quarter of cathedrals have received
grants from the HLF for a variety of projects which meet the HLF's
criteria. It should be noted that cathedrals are not eligible
to apply under the Repair Grants for Places of Worship category.
Successful applications have been made in partnership with local
authorities for schemes to improve churchyards and the area around
the cathedral, and for assistance with improved access for visitors
so that more people are able to enjoy facilities offered by cathedrals.
19. However, we are concerned that the Government
is putting legislation in place that may be used to reduce the
amounts allocated to the HLF. Heritage is fundamental to the identity
of the nation and is also a major contributor to the economy.
The combination of higher conservation standards and health and
safety legislation in recent years has made it substantially more
expensive to maintain heritage buildings, including cathedrals,
and it is not possible to generate sufficient money from private
sources both to care for and increase access to historic buildings.
Since its inception, HLF funding has been of key significance
in unlocking other monies and in enabling improved access to the
nation's heritage.
20. We also view with grave concern the
provisions in the proposed legislation that might allow the reduction
of balances from the HLF. These provisions show a fundamental
lack of understanding of major heritage projects which will always
involve a significant lapse of time between approval of a grant
and actual payment; new-build projects are simple in comparison.
Heritage projects tend to be long-term due to the complex consent
procedures and fundraising and can experience delays as new information,
such as archaeology, becomes available once the project has started.
21. Cathedrals would find it helpful to
have clarification of the relationship between HLF and the new
lottery distributor, the Big Lottery (assuming that its terms
of reference will enable it to give grants to cathedrals).
22. We welcome the success of London in
its bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. We anticipate that benefits
will accrue across the nation, and that cathedrals will see increased
visitor numbers as those attracted to the UK to see the Olympics
will also spend time experiencing the country's heritage. We would
be concerned if hosting the Olympics diverts money away from the
HLF and the Big Lottery as heritage is a priceless and continuing
asset for the UK and neglect would be foolhardy.
WHAT THE
ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES SHOULD
BE FOR
ENGLISH HERITAGE,
THE HERITAGE
LOTTERY FUND,
LOCAL AUTHORITIES,
MUSEUMS AND
GALLERIES, CHARITABLE
AND OTHER
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANISATIONS IN
MAINTAINING THE
NATION'S
HERITAGE
23. The Church of England plays a major
role in maintaining the nation's heritage. 45% of all Grade 1
listed buildings in England are Anglican churches. 38 out of 42
cathedrals are Grade 1 listed. Cathedrals are the oldest buildings
in continuous use in their environments. They are complicated
both archaeologically and architecturally. They are unique and
priceless heritage assets.
24. It is unrealistic to expect the relatively
small number of people actively involved in their cathedrals and
churches to conserve the buildings they use for worship for the
benefit of the rest of the nation without more assistance.
25. Cathedral authorities are willing to
discharge their responsibility for their buildings but would like
to see financial recognition from the Government for the contribution
they make.
WHETHER THERE
IS AN
ADEQUATE SUPPLY
OF PROFESSIONALS
WITH CONSERVATION
SKILLS; THE
PRIORITY PLACED
BY PLANNING
AUTHORITIES ON
CONSERVATION; AND
THE MEANS
OF MAKING
CONSERVATION EXPERTISE
MORE ACCESSIBLE
TO PLANNING
OFFICERS, COUNCILLORS
AND THE
GENERAL PUBLIC
26. Cathedrals are required by the Cathedrals
Measure 1999 to appoint an architect or building surveyor with
appropriate conservation expertise to advise the cathedral authorities
on issues relating to the fabric of the cathedral church and other
buildings. A full survey of the condition of all buildings in
the ownership of cathedrals is required every five years, identifying
maintenance and repair work which should be carried out and estimating
the cost of such works. Many highly skilled conservation experts
are employed by cathedrals.
27. Cathedral workshops employ a large proportion
of the nation's craftsmen with conservation skills, including
stonemasons, carpenters, and stained glass specialists. Cathedrals
have a very significant role in ensuring the continuity of conservation
skills and in educating new craftsmen. Cathedrals work with both
English Heritage and the National Skills Council to ensure that
there are training opportunities for those interested in careers
in conservation.
28. Cathedrals with their own skilled workforces
not only maintain their own buildings but also outsource their
craftsmen to work on other conservation projects. For example,
Carlisle Cathedral's stonemasons fulfil contracts for other owners
of heritage buildings in the local area.
29. The attitude of local authorities to
conservation is very variable. Many employ conservation officers
within their planning departments, often with financial assistance
from English Heritage, but many do not. We consider that local
authorities should be required to employ conservation officers,
and these officers should be given a high profile within planning
departments.
30. It is difficult for those not involved
in the heritage sector to understand the complexity of conservation
work. English Heritage has a team of very skilled and experienced
staff who would be capable of improving conservation literacy
in local authorities if there were sufficient funding for training
to be given to local authority officers and councillors. We consider
that providing training should be given a high priority so that
local authorities can take appropriate planning decisions to protect
and enhance our heritage.
18 January 2006
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