Please see information below which may be helpful for your church:
Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme – applications open
The Home Office has announced that the fourth round of the Places of Worship (POW) Protective Security Funding Scheme is open for applications until 23:59 on the 31 August 2019. Over the first three years of the scheme more than 130 places of worship have been awarded grants to install measures such as protective alarms, security lighting and access controls.
This year’s scheme has been made easier for places of worship and associated faith community centres to apply. Applicants no longer need to find their own quotes for security measures; instead applicants will benefit from a central supplier for assessments, quotes and installation. The Home Office was aware of the need for the chosen central supplier to have experience working with listed places of worship. Please let me know if you hear of any suggested works in listed buildings that are not appropriate to the setting.
In addition faith community centres are now included. Applicants no longer need to show they have already experienced hate crime, the test will be vulnerability to hate crime.
The scheme is open to places of worship and associated faith community centres (a community centre run by a place of worship or near a place of worship that is faith based, and where regular worship takes place) across England and Wales.
Further details of the funding scheme and how to apply are here.
National Lottery Heritage Fund grants over £5m
The Heritage Fund has announced its first scheme for grants over £5m under its new strategic framework. Expressions of interest are invited by 11 October 2019. The strategic priorities for the scheme are landscape and nature, and heritage at risk. Churches are able to apply, although the scheme is not for all expressions of heritage. Information here.
For churches seeking funding between £250,000 and £5m there is more information here.
Grants for roof alarms
Grants of £1,000 are available to churches for roof alarms from Allchurches Trust. This has been provided to county historic churches trusts and dioceses on the basis of a £1,000 grant per church. To see if you are in an eligible area click here. Roof alarms are an effective deterrent, especially when a group of churches in an area is fitted with them.
Ecclesiastical has recently published new guidance on automatic door time locks, to facilitate keeping churches open during the day for visitors when it is not straightforward to arrange a person to attend to unlock ad then close the church each day. It is still desirable that a person who knows the church sees it regularly, but the automatic lock gives greater freedom over when this happens.