Churches hoping to build affordable homes for their communities on pockets of land they own – or as part of schemes such as rebuilding parish halls – are being invited to apply for grants to pay for expert advice from a £3.2 million fund launched by the Church of England.

Funding of up to £25,000 towards the cost of architect, consultant and other professional fees needed to assess the feasibility of housing proposals on church land, will be supported through the scheme with some grants contributing to the cost of navigating the planning process.

The national initiative aims to help parishes and dioceses work towards achieving the goals set out in the Coming Home report. The landmark study, published in 2021 by a team of housing experts and church leaders, called on the Church of England to lead by example in working to solve the housing crisis.

The funding comes from an overall grant of £4.25 million over five years to help dioceses and parishes in building homes on their land as a response to the housing crisis.

A newly-formed Church of England Housing Project team, led by Beki Winter, formerly of the Housing Justice charity, is now actively seeking parishes interested in, or already working on, developing homes that address the needs of their communities.

“Many parishes have issues with their buildings or property, but don’t always realise that these problems could be opportunities to provide some housing,” she said. 

“For example, an outdated church hall could be rebuilt to include a few flats above it, or a surplus car park could be redeveloped to provide some social homes. There are many creative ways to use church land or property to provide housing for people in need, whilst improving community facilities or bolstering parish finances.”

The grants programme runs alongside expert guidance for Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) that are interested in exploring how they could manage their property differently and provide homes for those in need.

Richard Sudworth, the Church of England’s Director of Faith and Public Life, said: “This housing initiative is a simple response to a biblical mandate to God’s people towards justice: where a true fast involves bringing the homeless poor into our house (Isaiah 58:7), and where serving Christ demands that we welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35).”

A 60-year-old parish hall site at St Martin’s Church in Fulwood, Preston, has been developed into 14 affordable homes and a new energy-efficient parish centre, providing just one example of how churches could contribute to helping solve the housing crisis.

Project manager Canon Andrea Titterington said:  “The St. Martin’s chapel/parish centre project fulfils twin objectives of the Church of England – to use its land to provide good quality, affordable housing and to offer community space for fellowship, service and worship.”