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Can we apply to the Joint Repair Scheme for work needed on our church windows? They are in a terrible state.
YES AND NO. Windows are part of the fabric of the building that keeps the church wind- and watertight. When windows are in a bad state, with bowed leading and glass about to fall out, clearly the weather could easily win.
The first step is to get a report on the windows, stating the level of need for repair. Your inspecting architect will be able to commission this from a window specialist. The report will address the need for repair of single windows, or of groups of windows.
If the windows concerned are high-level, clerestory windows that can only logically be repaired in one project, then get on with your application. In cases such as this, the scaffolding will go up only once, and they can all be fixed at the same time.
On one church I worked with, however, the west, rose window was by far the most risky. By asking a variety of trusts to help, we were able to raise the necessary £30,000 without applying to the Joint Repair Scheme for funds.
What is more difficult to present to the Joint Scheme is a series of low-level window repairs, often on stained-glass windows. In this case, the report from your consultant may determine that work to some windows is extremely urgent, while that to others is less so, and the latter can wait for a while. In the competition for funds, the Scheme will consider only those windows that need urgent repairs.
The minimum grant on the Joint Repair Scheme is £10,000; so, if the urgent window repairs come to less than that sum, or if you have more than 80 per cent of the sum in your church bank account, you will not be eligible under the Scheme.
There are a number of trusts outside the Joint Repair Scheme which will help with grants towards window repair. Several small grants together may mend one window at a time. Research these trusts on the following websites: www. churchcare.co.uk; www.ahfund.org.uk; www.dsc.org.uk.
Your diocese may have a subscription to a general funding-research engine such as dsc, funderfinder, or grantfinder, and will help you search. In addition, ask other churches that have raised funds for windows about the trusts that helped them.
Send your questions to: maggie@ churchtimes.co.uk
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