New Parish Accessibility Fund

A new fund has been launched by the Church of England to support parishes with projects and building improvements that will support those who are deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent. 

Following a pilot scheme with parishes in the Province of York, the fund is rolling out to parishes across the country for the period 2026-2028.

There are two funding streams: large grants of up to £50,000 for major capital projects and small grants of up to £5,000 for smaller building works or projects that support inclusion. 

Although decisions are made by a project board at national level, the application should be made in the first instance to the diocesan Church Buildings Team (via churches@cofe-worcester.org.uk or 01905 732809). 

Parishes are strongly encouraged to discuss a potential application with the buildings team before starting work on it.  For projects that are primarily missional rather than capital-focussed, both the buildings team and mission & ministry team will be able to support but please make first contact through the buildings team for consistency.

Examples of projects funded in the pilot scheme include:

• Installing accessible toilets and creating step-free access at churches and church halls
• Installing, improving and ensuring effective operation of hearing-aid loops
• Creating a quiet space, a neurosensory space and providing neurosensory toys, gadgets and noise-cancelling headsets to support families with neurodivergent children
• Adding and marking out a disabled parking bay in the church car park
• Improving signage and printed materials to meet the access needs of partially sighted and dyslexic readers
• Training for church leaders and preachers to enable them to understand the needs of neurodivergent people and better craft their communications
• Improved screens and monitors for captioning and pictorial imagery, and provision of handheld tablets available for sight-impaired, hearing-impaired or neurodivergent attendees
• Replacing an old worn-out wheelchair with a new, comfortable one for lending out as needed to visitors

For a full list of the eligibility criteria and the instructions on how to apply – including a template Accessibility Audit which is required for all applications – please visit this page on the Church of England’s website, or via the church buildings funding page on our website.