Other Organisations
Churches seeking advice about repairs and alterations might also consider approaching some of the organisations listed below; local planning authorities may well need to be consulted over planning issues. (Words in purple are links to the respective websites.)
National Churches Trust
www.nationalchurchestrust.org
This is the central body which, as well as its other functions, now has links to all the County Trusts, the addresses of which are to be found on its website. A Liaison Group has been formed which includes representatives from HCPT and from eight of the County Trusts. This meets regularly, since the value has been realised of being able to speak with one voice, to discuss ways of co-operating and of putting views forward whether at government level or in Brussels. There is an annual meeting, attended by members of as many of the County Trusts as possible and the eight liaison group County Trust members have undertaken each to keep in touch with a number of neighbouring Trusts.
The National Churches Trust is launching a Survey 2010 which will include buildings of every Christian denomination, of all ages and conditions, to understand how they are maintained, repaired, funded and used by their local communities. It will aim to create a national picture of the current status of these places of worship.
The survey can be found online and will launch in April 2010 at http://survey.nationalchurchestrust.org
Please read the following press release for further details National Churches Trust Survey 2010 Press release
For the Church of England, the website www.churchcare.co.uk which is run on behalf of the Archbishops’ Council, provides a wealth of information on the running and care of parish churches. A list of grant-giving bodies (not exhaustive) is included in the Grants and Finance section.
Church organisations in Hampshire
Diocese of Guildford
Diocese of Portsmouth
Diocese of Salisbury
Diocese of Winchester
R.C. Diocese of Portsmouth
Methodist Church
United Reformed Church
Local authorities
Local authorities, both County and district, may on occasion give grants to our churches for certain categories of work. Their planning departments may also, of course, need to be informed of changes to the buildings, especially where listed. Hampshire is covered by the following authorities:-
Hampshire County Council
Southampton City Council *
Portsmouth City Council *
*unitary authorities
District Councils:-
Basingstoke and Deane
East Hants
Eastleigh
Fareham
Gosport
Hart
Havant
New Forest
Rushmoor
Test Valley
Winchester
For those interested in the general area of our heritage, the organisation Heritage Links was set up in 2002 by national heritage groups to promote the central role of the voluntary movement in the sector and to make their voice heard collectively and coherently.