Just under 800,000 go to church on a Sunday, and there are, according to the Church of England official website, more than 16,000 churches. This means that each one caters for 49 people, on average. This is hardly a decent turnout, and I would say provides a very good level of justification for some consolidation. If only there were this many Post Offices for the rather more numerous visitors that would call.
With such small numbers, it would be reasonable as a first step to 'decommission' a quarter of them. The 4000 redundant churches would leave the 795,000 church-goers to fight for places at 12,000 establishments. They would not have to fight too hard, as the average capacity would have to be just 66 people - more than enough pew space, I'd say!
The closure of 4000 churches would of course save an awful lot of money. Any business with just 49 visitors on the busiest day would not last long, especially as the average spend level is about £3 into a collection plate. The money raised on a Sunday, on average, therefore pays for no more than the day's outgoings. That's the best possible assessment I can give, meaning that at best, the rest of the week is not paying its way. Yes, there are funerals, marriages and christenings - things that are indeed money spinners for the parishes. How sad that 'Ash Cash' is the thing that some parish clergy probably look forward to. The outlook is probably similar to that of news reporters who actually love a tragedy and/or death, because a major loss of life gives them their moments of glory and attention.
The website also claims that 46% of the population thinks that central taxation, local taxation, the National Lottery or English Heritage should be primarily responsible for providing money to maintain churches and chapels. That's fucking outrageous. With a church on Sunday holding (and don't forget, that's probably over rather more than just ONE service) just 49 people, how the fuck can the CofE pontificate [pun and any offence taken is intended] and expect locals to want and pay for religion if they are not interested? Whatever the questions were in the survey that collected this shit, they were skewed.
About £110million is spent per year to maintain their churches, although the required figure is estimated at £195million - again based on notes on the website. If this figure is slightly out of date, and we take a reasonable assessment that £160million per year is about right, then that is £10,000 per church, just for maintenance. So, closing 4,000 (as a start) would improve efficiency, while saving £40million per year. Then there's the benefit of not needing so many staff to ponce around, and the sell-off of property that would bring in a fucking fortune. This all makes complete sense. The 12,000 remaining churches would be better attended (slightly) and there would be loads of money in the kitty for maintenance after cost reductions and the property windfall. As it is, the property portfolio is allegedly around £800million, so all in all, there's no justification for the Church of England to bleat about poverty, or contribute to stupid financial arrangements.
QED / Amen
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