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<p>Between 2010 and 2019, 209 consecrated churches were formally closed, which amounted
to just over 1%. Since the 1990s the rate of closure has remained steady at 20-25
per year out of a total of around 16,000 church buildings. It is important to note
that new churches are also being built and that some congregations meet in other kinds
of buildings.</p><p>More information can be found in the annual reports of the Church
Commissioners, which are available in the House of Commons Library, or online here,
in the sections for ‘Mission, Pastoral and Church Property’ or ‘Pastoral Administration’:
<a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/church-commissioners-england/how-we-are-governed/publications"
target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/church-commissioners-england/how-we-are-governed/publications</a></p><p>Churches
are first and foremost places of worship. The 2017 Taylor Review into sustainability
of English Churches and Cathedrals ( <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/669667/Taylor_Review_Final.pdf"
target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/669667/Taylor_Review_Final.pdf</a>
) found that the Government could also enable the church to serve local communities
better by reviewing planning law around listed buildings, to enable Local Authorities
to think more imaginatively about diversification and wider use. For over a decade
the Church of England’s own ‘open and sustainable churches’ programme, has encouraged
churches to consider partnering with a wide variety of community resources (e.g. post
offices, village shops, children’s play areas, credit unions, foodbanks, co-working
spaces) in sharing space: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/sharing-your-building-and-finding"
target="_blank">Sharing your building and finding partners | The Church of England</a></p>
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