Our churches are facing a "tax cliff-edge" on March 31, 2026. For decades, the Listed Places of Worship (LPW) Grant Scheme allowed churches to reclaim the 20% VAT on essential repairs, effectively keeping these heritage sites solvent. However, the government is replacing this automatic relief with a much smaller, competitive grant fund that covers only a fraction of the national repair bill. Without urgent intervention, many of our most beloved community hubs, which serve as food banks, warm spaces, and cultural landmarks, face permanent closure due to insurmountable tax costs.
Subject: Urgent Action Needed: Protecting our National Heritage
I am writing to you on behalf of a significant number of concerned residents regarding the impending changes to VAT arrangements for religious and heritage buildings, specifically the conclusion of the Listed Places of Worship (LPW) Grant Scheme on March 31, 2026.
For over twenty years, this scheme has been the cornerstone of heritage preservation in our community. By allowing our historic buildings to reclaim VAT on essential repairs, it has ensured that local volunteers and congregations can focus their limited resources on community service rather than tax liabilities.
We believe the proposed replacement, the £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund, is dangerously insufficient. With the national repair backlog for parish churches alone estimated at £150 million, the resulting VAT gap will create an immediate financial crisis. In many of our rural and urban neighborhoods, these buildings are the only remaining "warm spaces," hosting food banks, youth groups, and vital pastoral support. To impose a 20% tax burden on these volunteer-led efforts is, in our view, unsustainable.
On behalf of the undersigned residents, we respectfully urge you to:
- Reinstate full VAT relief for repairs and maintenance on listed places of worship to prevent a wave of closures.
- Bridge the funding gap by ensuring the replacement scheme accurately reflects the true cost of conservation.
- Recognise the social value of these buildings as critical infrastructure for the "civil society" your department seeks to strengthen.
Our heritage buildings are the physical anchors of our history and our shared future. We ask that you use your domestic policy influence to protect these irreplaceable landmarks before the March deadline.
Yours
James Wright
