Some 6,000 churches have shut their doors over the past decade. Of the 38,500 churches, chapels and meeting houses now open for worship in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 20,000 are listed; in England alone, 900 of these church buildings are on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register.
Currently, in Scotland, 30-40% of churches are set to close and, in Wales, a quarter have shut in the past decade (Books, page 98).
Measures proposed in the manifesto include, of course, procuring more funds, which could be aided by a Government-supported matched funding scheme. At the moment, the backlog of repairs for the Church of England's churches is $1 billion, with the average maintenance cost at about £150 million a year. It's estimated that additional annual public funding of $50 million is required.
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