Government publishes
guidance to help realise the potential of Churches and Faith buildings
DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT News Release (36/09) issued by COI News
Distribution Service. 24 March 2009
The Government and
the Church of England today published 'Churches and Faith
Buildings: Realising the Potential', to help churches and
other and faith groups find resources to make their buildings more
sustainable by enhancing the facilities and services they offer to
local communities.
The paper has been produced as a result of a joint working party
between Government departments and the Church of England.
Launching the report, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said:
"Churches and other places of worship are at the heart of
neighbourhoods. They are the local landmarks by which we navigate
and they often represent the best of our heritage. At the same
time, both the buildings and the people that frequent them, are so
often active in enhancing the lives of many people, offering
services to meet the needs of the local community.
"This excellent paper brings together two important things -
the bricks and mortar of much-loved buildings, and the benefits
they bring as resources for the wider community. Put them together
and we are helping these buildings to meet the challenges of the future."
Sadiq Khan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Community
Cohesion in the Department for Communities and Local Government, said:
"I welcome the faith buildings paper - it will give faith
groups support to develop their buildings for wider public use,
and offer them and other community groups increased opportunities
to come together in shared public spaces.
"Faith buildings of all kinds are a really important local
resource and should be made the most of, which is why the guidance
will identify a range of funding and other resources available to
faith groups to enable them to improve and modify their buildings
for wider community use and for a range of different purposes.
"I know the information in the guidance will be useful and I
am sure we will see an increase in the number of faith buildings
being used to bring people together, forming strong community
links and helping to deliver the services local people need."
Across the country, churches and other faith groups are looking
at what more their buildings can bring to local communities.
Faith buildings are more likely to be better maintained and
adapted for community use when they are well used. At the same
time, churches and other faith groups are ideally placed in every
community to provide facilities, services and a positive and
stable presence.
The paper confirms the position of churches and faith groups as
significant contributors to society as part of the third sector.
It proposes a range of actions to help faith groups engage
effectively in local and regional agendas, it outlines some
resources that might help to make church and faith buildings more
user-friendly as part of wider community activities, and it
proposes ways in which providers of funding and policy makers
might better understand what faith groups bring to community.
Notes for editors
1. Her Majesty's Treasury, DCMS, Communities and Local
Government, Defra and Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet
Office worked with the Archbishop's Council of the Church of
England to produce Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the
Potential, to explore access by faith groups to funding available
to the Third Sector to support community services and activities.
2. The document is relevant to all denominations and faith
groups, and to the secular Third sector.
3. The Faith Communities Consultative Council, the
Government's main consultative body with faith communities,
was given the opportunity to comment and cleared the launch of the document.
4. The paper announces no new funding. Rather, it outlines some
existing or planned sources of funding that faith groups could
access to support community activities.
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