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Statutory Instruments

2026 No. 379

ECCLESIASTICAL LAW, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Grants to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2026

Made

25th March 2026

Coming into force

1st April 2026

The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Treasury, makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1 of the Redundant Churches and other Religious Buildings Act 1969(1) and now vested in the Secretary of State(2).

In accordance with section 1(4) of that Act, a draft of this instrument was laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

Citation, commencement and extent

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Grants to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2026 and comes into force on 1st April 2026.

(2) This Order extends to England and Wales.

Period for grants to the Churches Conservation Trust

1. The period beginning with 1st April 2026 and ending with 31st March 2029 is specified for the purposes of section 1(1) of the Redundant Churches and other Religious Buildings Act 1969 (“ the Act ”).

Aggregate amount of grants

1. The aggregate amount of the grants that may be paid under section 1(1) of the Act in the period specified in article 2 must not exceed £9,531,000.

Revocation of previous Order

1. The Grants to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2025(3) is revoked.

Ian Murray

Minister of State

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

25th March 2026

We approve.

Christian Wakeford

Taiwo Owatemi

Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury

25th March 2026

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The Churches Conservation Trust (formerly known as the Redundant Churches Fund) (“ the Trust ”) has as its object the preservation, in the interests of the nation and the Church of England, of churches and parts of churches of historic and archaeological interest or architectural quality which, together with their contents, are vested in the Trust.

Article 2 of the Order specifies the period beginning with 1st April 2026 and ending with 31st March 2029 for the purposes of section 1 of the Redundant Churches and other Religious Buildings Act 1969. As a result, the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, make grants to the Trust during that period of such amounts, payable at such times and subject to such conditions, if any, as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine. Article 3 of the Order specifies the sum of £9,531,000 as the maximum aggregate amount of the grants that may be paid in that period. The previous Order made under section 1 of the 1969 Act is revoked.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

(1) 1969 c. 22. The Pastoral Measure 1968 (No. 1) established the Redundant Churches Fund and section 13(1) of the Pastoral (Amendment) Measure 1994 (No. 1) changed the name of the Redundant Churches Fund to the Churches Conservation Trust. Section 13(2) of the Pastoral (Amendment) Measure 1994 provided that references to the Redundant Churches Fund in section 1(1) of the Redundant Churches and other Religious Buildings Act 1969 should be construed as references to the Churches Conservation Trust. The Pastoral (Amendment) Measure 1994 was repealed by the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 (No. 3) and the operation of the Churches Conservation Trust is now governed by section 57 of, and Schedule 5 to, the 2011 Measure (as amended by the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2014 (No. 1) and the Mission and Pastoral etc. (Amendment) Measure 2018 (No. 4)).

(2) S.I. 1970/1681.

(3) S.I. 2025/360.

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