BRIEFING ON THE LISTED PLACES OF WORSHIP ROOF GRANTS – 2ND
ROUND.
Background
The Fund was set up after the Chancellor of the Exchequer committed £15m of funding in 2014 to
help to make the UK’s listed places of worship weather tight, safe and open for use.
Grants were available from £10,000 to £100,000 for urgent repairs to roofs (including roof coverings,
timbers, ceilings and vaults) and rainwater disposal systems (eg. gutters, valleys, hoppers, downpipes,
gullies, drains and soakaways. Costs for structural investigations; specialist reports and bat
surveys were also eligible.
The high level of demand for the programme resulted in the Chancellor committing a further £40million
bringing the total funding available to £55million. 502 grants have been awarded so far accounting for
£30million of the allocated funding.
The programme will reopen to new applications later this year, making awards from the remaining
£25m during 2016. We are expecting the web-site to be updated soon with more information on the
upcoming round of applications. http://www.lpowroof.org.uk
We are issuing this briefing so that you can prepare in advance. We would also like to support
those parishes who are thinking of applying, so if you are thinking of submitting an application,
please contact either Tim Bridges or Wendy Coombey for advice sooner rather than later.
t.bridges@hereford.anglican.org
w.coombey@hereford.anglican.org
The next round
This will open later in the autumn, probably in November, with the application form and guidance
documents available on the website beforehand. It is likely that the application deadline will be in
February 2016.
The scheme essentially remains the same, though some changes are being considered to the
application form itself and the guidance documentation. These include:

the need to demonstrate that works are urgent within 2 years (rather than 5 years).

revised wording reflecting the eligibility of cupolas and spire coverings such as shingles or
tiles

there will no longer be a requirement to provide a letter of support regarding best practice
from the DAC.
Any applicants who were unsuccessful during the first round and wish to be considered during this
next round will be required to reapply.
Feedback on unsuccessful applications.
Common issues which contributed to the decision not to award a grant include:

Urgency not being clearly demonstrated. The Quinquennial Inspection report and/or
supplementary condition survey should provide a timescale within which the works should be
carried out eg. within 1 year. References to repairs needed ‘as soon as possible’ or that are of
a ‘high priority’ are not sufficient.

Supporting documents. Some applications did not include all of these eg. detailed cost
breakdown, cash flow forecast etc. If these are not included this increases the risks as these
documents contribute to our assessment of project planning. In most cases your architect
should be able to help with this information.

Risks. Applications should include a comprehensive list of risks and explain how these will be
managed to demonstrate that the project is well considered. Not including sufficient
contingency and not including sufficient detail about the project management team also
increases risks. In most cases your architect should be able to help with this information.

Partnership funding. All projects should include partnership funding in the form of the Listed
Places of Worship VAT scheme. Other funding is not mandatory but does help to demonstrate
a commitment to the project. If additional fundraising is included, ideally this should be secured
to reduce risks but otherwise, the fundraising target should be achievable and in place within 6
months of the grant award.