PLACES of worship across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have benefitted from a £42million conservation fund.

Nearly 5,000 religious buildings in the UK have received a share of the funds from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in 2023.

The scheme gives grants covering VAT on repairs of over £1,000 to listed buildings as places of worship, and is run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, 22 places of worship from a range of denominations have received grants ranging from £421 to more than £50,000.

In Bournemouth town centre, Sacred Heart Catholic Church and St Peter’s Church received £50,212.69 and £27,901.27, respectively.

Christchurch Priory got £11,288.95 from the grant, while the Christchurch Christian Centre was given £1,844 and St Mary’s and All Saints Churches was granted £6,425.44.

In Poole, the church of St Peter in Parkstone received £8,919.60 and St Mary the Virgin in Lytchett Matravers was granted £3,973.87.

Church of England area dean for Bournemouth, Rev’d Canon Michael Smith, said the scheme is ‘immensely important’ to churches in the area. “The Government's Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is immensely important to us - particularly in Bournemouth where there are a large number of (mainly) Victorian churches and places of worship,” Canon Smith said.

“To be able to recover VAT on works undertaken is a huge help when maintaining and restoring these amazing places.

“Church of England churches receive no central or outside funding at all so we have to rely on the generosity of those who are part of our worshipping community, grants and other funds. Because of the age of our buildings, they are very expensive to maintain.”

Canon Smith is also rector of the Parish of Four Saints in Winton, Moordown and Charminster.

Three of the four churches in his parish received funding as a part of the scheme, and he said that grant giving schemes are important for making churches the focal point of a community.

“We want to ensure that these buildings are used as widely as possible by the community - they are often the largest inside spaces within a community,” he said.

“Here in Winton, we have ambitious plans, for example, for St Luke's Church, with plans for a soft play area and community cafe.

“We will be relying heavily on grant making bodies to raise the significant amount of money it will take to make this dream a reality for the community.”

The government scheme has seen £346million to listed churches, synagogues, mosques and temples across the country since 2010.

For the full list of grants in the scheme, visit the gov.uk website.