Around 280 places of worship in Scotland get funding boost from UK Government

Places of worship across Scotland are feeling blessed following a windfall.

Around 280 places of worship across Scotland will be upgraded after taking a share of a £42 million conservation fund set up by the UK Government.

The money has been released as more than a million people across the UK are expected to attend Midnight Mass and Christmas Day services in their local church, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said.

Chalmers Church in Edinburgh was awarded just under £192,000 in one of the biggest single awards of the scheme, with a grant made of just under £192,000.

Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh is one of around 280 places of worship in Scotland to benefit from the UK Government funding for conservation. PIC: Carlos Delgado/CC.

Netherlee and Stamperland Parish Church in East Renfrewshire received £104,000 for works to refurbish the sanctuary roof, with repairs needed to the masonry, gutters, downpipes, lead works and drains.

Tony Ireland, project manager for Netherlee and Stamperland, said: "For us the Listed Places of Worship Scheme was seamlessly administered and the refunds authorised were efficiently delivered direct to our bank account.

"For listed property such as ours, this scheme delivered not just financial support, but a very real feeling that we were part of an important national effort.”

Meanwhile, St Andrews Church of Scotland in Moffat received more than £90,000, with Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh getting just over £10,500. Papa Stour Kirk in Shetland was granted £64,000 with the Glasgow Association of Spiritualists receiving £15,100 and AMIC Central Mosque in Aberdeen in receipt of just over £7,400.

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UK arts and heritage minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: "As churches across the country fill up for Nativity plays and Christmas services, it’s a reminder of the huge role that they and other places of worship play in the lives of their community.

“The Listed Places of Worship Scheme supports these precious buildings, which are cherished by people of all faiths and none.”

The money has been freed up as the Church of Scotland faces difficult decisions over the future of its buildings given falling attendance rates and increasing maintenance costs.

Last May, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland heard the number of church buildings, which then totalled between 4,000 and 5,000, would need to be reduced with closures now underway.

A report to the Assembly revealed the number of members fell by 35 per cent in the ten years since 2012.