Useful links

We have put together here some useful links to organisations and sources of information that you may find helpful if you are considering developing a regeneration project for a building like this. If you know of something helpful which we have not included here, please get in touch and let us know, and we'll add it to the list.

Church adaptations

• Churchcare - the Church of England's key website for guidance and advice on adapting your church building, with inspiring case studies of churches which have done it already across the country
• Church Commissioners - their Closed Churches team have available information on the legal side of what happens when a church is closed and statistics on those that have closed and been put into new uses over the years.
• Churches Trust for Cumbria - their Churches in the Community section of their website gives examples of ways in which churches in Cumbria have adapted to wider community use
• Diocese of Coventry - their Divine Inspiration project has useful tips on keeping churches open and making them relevant to the wider community, as well as experience of working closely with churches who are considering alternative uses, other than worship, for their building
• Diocese of Hereford - their Community Partnership and Funding team have some useful guidance, toolkits and example case studies of churches that have made adaptations in Herefordshire.
• Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich - their Church Buildings section has examples of community use projects that have been developed in Suffolk, and pointers about how to open churches up to wider use
  
• Diocese of Worcester - their Heritage Buildings and Community Development section has useful guidance about work being undertaken in Worcestershire to adapt and sustain church buildings in the wider community

Community ownership

• Development Trusts Association - leading network of community enterprise practitioners dedicated to helping people set up not-for-personal-profit' trusts which re-invest surplus back into their communities
• Plunkett Foundation - promotes and supports co-operatives and social enterprises in rural communities

Grantmakers

• Architectural Heritage Fund - a national revolving fund for the preservation of historic buildings. Loans, feasibility study grants and project administration grants are available within the organisations criteria
• Heritage Lottery Fund - major grantmaker which distrbutes money from the National Lottery to sustain and transform national heritage. Several grant programmes covering everything from museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions.
• National Churches Trust - national, non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and promoting places of worship used by Christian denominations throughout the UK

Regeneration of heritage assets

• Princes Regeneration Trust - undertakes the rescue and regeneration of redundant buildings of historic and architectural importance for the benefit of communities