Changes to a government funding scheme are threatening the completion of a £2.2 million restoration project at a Stoke-on-Trent church.
The Rector of St Mark’s Church in Shelton is urging residents to write to their MP to call for the continuation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS), which enables VAT to be claimed back on repair projects.
St Mark’s is undergoing major repairs to make the church usable again for worship and community projects, and has been able to claim VAT costs of more than £360,000 from the LPWGS.
However, the scheme, which has been running for more than 20 years, is set to end on March 31, 2025, and no announcement has yet been made about its future or any replacement programme.
Works at St Mark’s were set to finish in March – and would therefore be covered by the LPWGS – but further issues have been discovered during the project which are expected to cost £300,000 to £500,000 plus fees plus VAT.
And now church leaders are warning that this phase of work may not be able to go ahead if they are unable to reclaim the VAT costs, as claims can only be made retrospectively when a bill has been paid.
Rector of St Mark’s, the Reverend Phillip Jones, said: “The loss of the VAT reclaim would make that future project much more difficult. If they pulled the LPWGS we’d be in big trouble as finding further matched funding beyond that already raised is extremely difficult.
“Unless the government confirms that future funding, we could end up tens of thousands of pounds short. That will have huge consequences for the planned church and community activity we want to run from the building.
“I’ve written to my MP about this vital support for communities around the UK and look forward to hearing his reply. My hope is that he will join others in pressing the DCMS and Chancellor to renew a successful initiative of a previous Labour government. I urge anyone who cares for faith congregations, local communities and heritage to also write to their MP.”
The government-funded LPWGS provides around £42 million per year across thousands of projects nationally and is run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which is in the process of assessing programmes following the Budget and will announce decisions in due course.
The Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Reverend Michael Ipgrave, added: “Without LPWGS, churches would scale back projects maybe leaving essential works undone. With additional funding very difficult to find and often already committed many projects might not even start. All heritage buildings would suffer.
“The most efficient thing for the Government to do would be simply to make works to listed places of worship VAT free.
“It will be incredibly frustrating if the St Mark’s project scrapes through before the possible end of the scheme on March 31, but the community don’t then get a fully usable space because the extra remedial works can’t be funded. Other projects across the diocese are also at serious risk if the LPWGS isn’t kept going.”
