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<p>The Church Commissioners are grateful to the Treasury for making the First World
War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund available to its Cathedrals alongside extending
the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to include repairs to church roofs and rain
water guttering.</p><p>(a) The Cathedral at Worcester has received a total of £330,000
toward to costs of restoring its east window and to replace and weather-proof the
ceiling & roof of the cathedral’s ancient library. The Cathedral successfully
entered the bids for funding in rounds 1 and 2 of the First World War Centenary Cathedral
Repairs Fund which has so far assisted 32 of the Church of England’s Cathedrals. There
is one final round to which Cathedrals both Anglican and Catholic can enter bids before
the fund closes, the Church Commissioners hope the last few Cathedrals with substantial
works pending who are yet to submit a bid will consider putting applications forward.</p><p>(b)
The fund which the Chancellor has made available within the Listed Places of Worship
Roof Repair Fund has only been available since the 2014 Autumn Statement, no funding
or grants for roof repairs have be available centrally prior to this. The Roof Repair
Fund is not administered by the Church of England but by the National Heritage Memorial
Fund, who will make decisions on grants given. <br> <br>The Church of England has
advised all Diocesan Advisory Commissions (who assist Parishes with advice on repairs
and alterations to architecture and fabric of buildings) to encourage and assist with
applications to the fund which closes on the 30<sup>th</sup> January 2015. From the
Diocese of Worcester the Church of England understands 24 parish churches will apply,
7 parishes are currently on the English Heritage, ‘Heritage at Risk Register’ with
a further 17 parishes in urgent need. These figures is based on initial responses,
rather than formal expressions of interest. Not all parishes will be successful in
their bids for assistance and each case will be judged on its merits. This fund like
the WW1 Cathedrals Fund will enable the parishes to invest money into their wider
community helping those in greatest need rather than spending money just keeping the
building watertight. <br></p><p> </p><p> </p>
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