The UK government has ended the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, a 25-year program that allowed churches to reclaim VAT on repair and maintenance work. Heritage experts warn that this policy change, which effectively adds a 20% surcharge to conservation projects, is causing delays, reassessments, and cancellations of restoration work. Immediate casualties include the Peel Tower at St Cuthbert’s Church in Cumbria and Phoebe Anna Traquair’s 1905 murals at St Peter’s Church in Nottinghamshire, both of which face funding shortfalls due to the new tax burden.
This matters because England’s churches house one of the country’s most significant yet under-recognized collections of art and material culture, including priceless wall paintings, stained glass, monuments, and carvings. The policy creates an inconsistency: museums and galleries with free admission can reclaim VAT on repairs, but churches offering similar free access cannot. Campaigners warn that delayed or substandard repairs could lead to irreversible damage to fragile artworks and historic buildings, threatening centuries of heritage that are already vulnerable.