Caring for your church – news, advice and more. Sent to all Clergy, Readers, ALMs, LLMs, Churchwardens, Treasurers and Deanery Lay Chairs.
In this Issue:
- URGENT – Update on VAT grant scheme
2. Events and Resources
- Free training from the National Churches Trust
- Spring clean your website!
- Are you open to visitors?
- Emergency Planning
- Workshops with St Albans DAC
3. Environment
- Deanery Eco Champions
- Net Zero Carbon
4. Information
- Churchyard Regulation survey responses
- Items Available
5. Maintaining your building
- Recommended monthly tasks
6. Grants and Funding
- Apply for a Conservation Grant
- Living alongside bats in churches grant
7. Good news stories
- Stevenage, St Andrew and St George: Meeting needs with tea and toast
- Great St Mary’s in Sawbridgeworth: Conservation of monument to Viscount George Hewyt d.1689,
8. Other news
- Flamstead hawk!
9. Upcoming Events
- Volunteer Week
- Heritage open days
The DAC team and the Diocese’s Website
With thanks for all you do to maintain our wonderful churches as places where people can encounter God, parishes can reach out in mission and local communities can be transformed.
Emma Critchley, DAC Secretary
Ann Wise, Historic Buildings Support Officer
Jenny Dart, Pastoral and Advisory (DAC) Officer
Tom Abraham, Net Zero Carbon Officer
Mayra Shaw, Team Secretary – Church Buildings
Liz West, Church Buildings Maintenance Officer
Richard Jackson – Local Church Income Support Officer
1. URGENT – Update on VAT grant scheme
Action by the 31 March…
As you know, from 1 April 2025 there is a cap on VAT refunds under the LPWGS. The cap will limit a place of worship to a total VAT refund of £25k in the year.
We have now heard that VAT claims need to be in by 31st March 2025 latest if they are to treated under the current rules – that is, without a cap applying .
If the claim is received on or after 1 April then the cap will apply even if the expenditure was incurred before that date.
So if you think the cap may apply to you, you should claim for as much as possible on or before 31 March. If the cap definitely won’t apply to you, then there is no rush.
And from 1 April 2025…
Dr David Knight, Deputy Director for Church Buildings, Cathedrals & Church Buildings Division, has written:
Thank you for all that you have done to support PCCs following the news of change to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, and for all the encouragement given to engage with MPs about the importance of this scheme for listed places of worship and people caring for them. The DCMS has now published guidance for the change in arrangements for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, detailing how claims will be handled up to 31 March and from 1 April onwards.
The guidance is available here:
A reminder that the evaluation of the scheme from the DCMS remains open through this link.
2. Events and Resources
Free training from the National Churches Trust
You can find a variety of topics including:
Fundraising, Filming in Churches, Bats in Churches, and much more!
Spring clean your website!
Have you looked at your website recently?
Now is the time to look with fresh eyes at the information given on the website to visitors and members of the congregation alike.
Are you open to visitors?
Do you open your church regularly to visitors? Ann would love to hear from you!
What advice would you give other churches thinking about opening up more often? We want to know what has worked and what hasn’t.
Please get in touch and share your experiences:
Emergency Planning Resources from Historic England
The Emergency Planning team at Historic England invites all places of worship to take part in the training needs analysis survey. The aim of the survey is to help Historic England identify where gaps exist in the provision of training and guidance on emergency preparedness, response and recovery within our historic environment and the heritage sector.
You can find out more about the emergency planning, fire, flood and heritage crime guidance and advice provided by Historic England, as well as its current training offer and Emergency Planning Training Centre, by following this link:
The survey will close on Friday 4 April at 23:59
Workshops with St Albans DAC
Free Emergency Planning Drop-in On-line Sessions:
Thursday 24 April: 7pm – 8pm
Friday 25 April: 11am – 12 noon
Saturday 26 April: 10am – 11am
Monday 29 April: 11am – 12 noon
Bookings will open online on Friday 21 March
3. Environment
Join our new network of Deanery Eco Champions
Are you passionate about the environment? Are you keen to make a difference on climate justice? A new team of Deanery Eco Champions is being set up in our Diocese with up to 3 volunteers working to support and encourage churches in their deanery in their environmental work and encourage local initiatives, particularly through the Eco Church scheme.
Would you like to be a Deanery Eco Champion for your deanery? Please contact Rachel Johnston, Diocesan Environment Officer for further information including a job description and an application form.
You can also read more about it in the news story here: New Deanery Eco Champion Role – The Diocese of St Albans
NET ZERO CARBON
Electricity Meters with Economy 7 or similar
Does your church/hall have electricity supplied or Economy 7 or a similar tariff where the cost changes depending on the time of day? The Radio Teleswitch Service which enables the change between peak and cheap rates is being turned off on 30 June 2025. If you haven’t had your electricity meter changed to a smart meter by that date your electrical circuits and anything connected to them (normally storage heaters and immersion heaters) may not work correctly after this date. Your energy supplier should have been in contact to try and arrange a meter upgrade. More information is available from OFGEM here:
Energy Footprint Tool (EFT)
This year we are collecting your 2024 Energy Footprint Tool (EFT) data through the national church’s Parish Returns system, and it is open for EFT data until 30 June 2025. More detailed guidance is available in the EFT section of the Net Zero Carbon page.
Car parks and community electric vehicle (EV) charging
As part of the country’s transition to net zero carbon local councils are developing plans to install EV charging points so that people without access to their own off-street parking can charge their cars locally in the future. We have put together a short form so that you can let us know if you have a car park, how big it is, and if you would be willing to consider being part of providing community EV charging
Central Bedfordshire Council have been in touch with us looking for potential car parks in their parishes that may be able to host some charging points, and other councils may do likewise. Central Beds are looking for car parks with at least 4 spaces, that could be accessible 24/7, and ideally have a tarmac, or potentially a gravel surface, so if your car park does meet the requirements please let us know.
4. Information
Churchyard Regulation Survey
Thank you to everyone who responded to the churchyard regulation survey.
Responses will be passed onto the Chancellor in statistical form.
Items Available:
St Paul’s, St Albans have the following items on offer
- Wooden kneeling rail
- Set comprising Bishop’s Chair and two wooden prayer desks with integrated kneeler (oak, excellent condition)
- Oak lectern
- Oak high side table
- Wooden prayer desk with integrated kneeler
- Clock with ornate figurine of St Paul
For more information:
For Sale:
Audio Visual Desk – Holy Trinity Leverstock Green
Dimensions are:
Width 94cm, Depth 58cm, Hight 112cm to top, 87cm to desk
For more information:
5. Maintaining your building
Recommended monthly tasks for the Spring:
The tasks taken from SPAB’s maintenance calendar are on our website.
6. Grants and Funding
New information is below for more resources about grants and funding, please see our website and look out for the next Grant Bulletin in April.
Apply For A Conservation Grant
The Church of England’s Cathedral & Church Buildings Department has an expanded conservation grants programme which is open for applications. The ChurchCare conservation grants programme supports the conservation of church textiles, bells, clocks, organs, stained glass, wall paintings and monuments. Thanks to a five-year partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) there is now additional funding to help more churches. It’s very important to read the general guidance first before looking at the individual conservation grants.
Don’t forget the Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom! Please note: these grants cannot be used as part of a larger repair project which is also funded by the NLHF.
Living alongside Bats in Churches
The next round of the Living Alongside Bats in Churches grant is now open and will close at 9am on the 28 April. These grants are especially intended to help churches who are facing another summer of lots of cleaning get the help they need.
A requirement of the grant is that the church holds a positive community event inspired by nature.
Part of the grant can be used toward the costs of the event. Applications and more information:
If you have questions about the scheme please contact the Bats in Churches adviser:
7. Good news stories
Meeting needs with tea and toast
Since June 2021, Porch Pantry, based at St Andrew & St George in Stevenage, has been providing vital support to those in need across the local community. What started as a response to the increasing cost of living and everyday hardships has grown into a welcoming, compassionate initiative offering food, hygiene essentials, and a place of comfort.
Conservation of monument to Viscount George Hewyt d.1689, Sawbridgeworth
A remarkable wall memorial has just been cleaned and conserved and George now looks very dapper in all his clean finery.
Work in progress
8. Other News
Flamstead hawk!
Local people, the parish church and its churchyard feature prominently in a recent article in The Guardian.
‘It clawed the back of my head’: the Hertfordshire village harassed by a hawk. Flamstead residents – tall men, in particular – are under attack from a Harris’s hawk that has gone on a rampage…
For some, the bird’s rampage could point to something greater. Inside St Leonard’s Church, which dates back more than 900 years, a prophetic painting from the 15th century titled Three Living and the Three Dead adorns its walls.
9. Upcoming Events
Dates for the diary – Get involved!
Volunteer Week: 2 – 8 June 2025
This national week of celebrating volunteers is a great time to raise awareness of the volunteering opportunities that your church may have (flower arranging, cake making, event planning, fundraising and much more). It’s also an opportunity to say thank you to everyone who volunteer already (including churchwardens) – a great excuse for a lunchtime feast or a big afternoon tea party! For more information about Volunteer Week visit
Do let us know if you’ll be taking part and if you would like any help creating new volunteer roles please give Ann a shout!
Heritage Open Days: 12-21 September 2025
If your church is listed this national event is a fantastic way of letting the wider community know about the wonderful place of worship that you look after.
Many of the Diocese’s church already take part but we’d love more to get involved! To find out more, please click the link below to take part.
It’s up to each individual church to decide what it would like to do and how often it will take part; its okay if you decide just to open your church one Saturday afternoon during the event. In past years there have been guided walks around churches and church yards, tower tours, and art exhibitions but just as lively has been volunteers welcoming visitors to look around at their leisure and serving tea and cake! Several churches have linked a Heritage Open Day with being open for Bike & Hike (Saturday 13 September). As in previous years Ann offers to come along and help if needed!