By Annie Riddle

SALISBURY Cathedral's battle with English Heritage for money to repair its stonework has highlighted a national problem.

The Cathedral received no grant from English Heritage this year because of a disagreement over its stone conservation policy.

But according to the Dean of Southwark, the Very Rev Colin Slee, "miserly" Government spending cuts are the real villain, and what is needed is a system of guaranteed funding for all our cathedrals.

The Dean, a senior member of the English Cathedrals Association, defended Salisbury's restoration policy and said its problems stemmed from budget cuts to English Heritage by Parliament a couple of years ago.

As a result, English Heritage had to slash costs, and abolished its specialised cathedrals section.

"Now, regional staff with no background knowledge assess these great churches by a rule book which does not comprehend hitherto approved conservation strategy."

The Cathedrals' Fabric Commission for England has approved Salisbury's policy, he pointed out.

"Salisbury is in a cleft stick. On the one hand English Heritage has a new stone conservation brief that disapproves; on the other, the legally binding Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England apparently approves. Meanwhile the stone crumbles."

The Dean said no cathedral had a right to a grant, but stressed: "There is too little money to go round. Perhaps cathedrals should have a right. They are an incomparable treasure in our national architectural and historic heritage."

He suggested the Government should meet 75 per cent of the cost of repair works with the other quarter coming from voluntary funding.