For thousands of historic church buildings across England the 21st century has brought an uncertain future. Many are maintained by dedicated but ageing congregations while the bill for outstanding repairs creeps steadily higher. We have reached a critical point in the conservation of our places of worship and on Wednesday 10 May 2006 English Heritage is launching Inspired! � a campaign to draw attention to the problem and to put forward an action plan to help secure a future for these precious buildings.

Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: �An incredible 45% of England�s grade I listed buildings are churches and every survey has demonstrated that they are valued by the vast majority of people � non-believers and believers alike. So why are they facing what the Bishop of London himself has described as a �limited apocalypse soon� and what can we do about it?�

�To get to the root of the problem, English Heritage has commissioned a �Needs Survey� with the Church of England which will provide the most accurate figure so far for outstanding repairs to listed churches. We have also commissioned a map highlighting the areas of the country with the most �vulnerable� places of worship. Together these initiatives will help us to develop a proper long-term plan of action for places of worship.� [More]

Having gained a clearer picture of the problem, English Heritage, in partnership with the major Christian denominations and faiths looking after historic buildings, will be:

� revealing the estimated total repair bill for all listed places of worship in England;

� identifying the areas of the country where the most �vulnerable� Church of England parish churches are;

� demonstrating how pilot maintenance projects have helped congregations to look after their church and suggest how we might use our grants budget more effectively in future;

� providing a toolkit for denominations to help them to decide which churches can be adapted for new forms of worship and to include other uses;

� offering advice and training to congregations to understand what is really special about their place of worship so that making changes to the building becomes easier;

� supporting local authorities so they can be more engaged with places of worship and the issues which affect them;

� sponsoring new posts to mentor congregations and help them through the process of applying for a grant or to carry out new work;

� creating a dedicated Inspired! website www.English-heritage.org.uk/inspired where members of the public can find out information about all aspects of historic places of worship.

English Heritage will be presenting the results of its research to central and local Government to make a cast-iron case for greater public funding of these most precious parts of our national heritage.

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For more press information please contact:-

Anya Matthews or Beth McHattie, English Heritage Corporate Communications, on 020 7973 3372 or 3254.