CHURCH Buildings Support Officers (CBSOs), who were appointed thanks to grants from the Church of England’s £11 million Buildings for Mission project, met in Peterborough last month to share their experiences.

A total of £3.2 million was awarded for CBSOs last year, in 33 dioceses, to provide parishes with advice on the management, conservation, repair, and development of church buildings, including community use alongside worship (News, 9 November 2023).

The new CBSOs are helping to oversee £6.2 million of grants from the Buildings for Mission fund for repairs to churches, focused on small-scale but urgent works and “stitch-in-time” projects that could save larger sums in the long term. The project, which runs from 2023 to 2025, is funded by the Church Commissioners and administered by the Archbishops’ Council.

Sophie Allen, who previously worked in consultancy in the heritage sector, and took up her post as CBSO in the diocese of Chichester in November, has been overseeing the distribution of funds for minor repairs and improvements.

Many of the grants have been made to replace and repair guttering in churches, she said, describing this as “unglamorous but so important”, designed to save churches from the damaging impact of heavy rain.

“It is wonderful to work so directly with the parishes,” she said. “The diocese has allocated the grants to the areas most in need and the buildings most at risk.”

Alena Douglas, a CBSO in the diocese of Leeds, has visited 29 churches in the diocese over the six months since her appointment. She provides advice in a range of areas, from starting long-term church reordering projects, to helping with application forms to grants panels. “My work can include going from a city-centre church in Leeds to a tiny medieval chapel in the Dales in a space of a couple of days.”

Faye Edwardes, a CBSO in the diocese of Truro, supports and advises churches on the next steps in fund-raising. “Even in areas where regular Sunday attendance is low, the emotional connection to the church is huge,” she said.

“It is amazing to be instrumental in maintaining what is a hugely important part of the heritage of England, not just the Church.”