Archives for January 2026

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

The Government has announced it is ending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which means that from 1 April 2026 listed places of worship will need to pay tax on any repair, maintenance, or renovation costs. 

If you are carrying out any repairs, we urge you to submit any claims for your project to the scheme as soon as possible; their final deadline will be 31 March 2026, but it could also end sooner if the £23 million budget for the scheme is reached before then. 

What next? 

The Government is replacing the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme with a £230 million package to protect and preserve heritage buildings, including listed places of worship.  Details of the new scheme will follow later in the year.

Vacancy: Ride & Stride Administrator

The Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust (WHCT) is seeking a volunteer Ride & Stride (R&S) Administrator to help on a modest, part-time basis with Ride & Stride administration.

Purpose

WHCT is a charity that exists to support all churches and chapels in Wiltshire. It provides advice and grants to help with church fabric repairs and community enhancements.

Ride & Stride is WHCT’s annual fundraising event which takes place on the second Saturday of September each year. Funds raised are split evenly between the Trust and the church of the sponsored participant. Wiltshire churches benefit enormously from this event, as do individual participants.

Role Requirement

The Ride & Stride Administrator will be able to work at home on a flexible basis to suit their routine. They will be expected to:

  • Use Email for routine contact and to brief Wiltshire’s local Church Organisers.
  • Produce and distribute material supporting the Ride and Stride event.
  • Manage receipts into and payments from the Ride and Stride bank account and maintain a simple accounting spreadsheet. Provide lists of sponsors’ contributions to HMRC for the recovery of Gift Aid.
  • Manage a basic database of church R&S contacts.
  • Provide reports on the event as required by the Trustees.

The bookkeeping period is from the event in September to January each year.

Reward

This is an enjoyable and highly rewarding voluntary role, at the heart of WHCT and friendly parish relationships, with the satisfaction of seeing the results of Ride & Stride and directly helping Wiltshire churches.

A small honorarium will be paid to the Administrator.

Appointment Timetable

The Trust intends to appoint the new R&S Administrator before the end of April 2026 so that the successful applicant can shadow the current Administrator this year before taking over in full for the 2027 event.  The closing date for applications is Monday, 9th March 2026.

If you wish to apply for this voluntary role, or if you have any questions about its scope, please email the incoming Honorary Secretary, Primrose Campbell, at sec.whct@gmail.com.

Please consider applying.