Churchgoers could finally be granted respite from sore bottoms and chilly toes and will be helping to save the planet at the same time, thanks to a change in church rules.

The Church of England has set out plans to cut red tape to make it easier for parishes to install cushions on uncomfortable wooden pews and to lay down rugs between rows of seats.

The changes to church laws have been drawn up with both comfort and climate in mind. The use of soft furnishings in churches, from cushions and upholstered chairs to carpets and rugs, is seen as “heresy” by some worshippers, but cushions and carpets retain heat and reduce the need to crank up the heating in draughty church buildings.

A raft of amendments has been proposed to church laws to reduce bureaucracy for parishes wanting to make eco-friendly alterations, including the addition of electric vehicle charging points, solar panels, green boilers, new insulation, draught proofing or “soft furnishings, for example cushions and removable floor runners”.

It will also make it harder for churches to fit new oil or gas-fuelled boilers.

In some, the Church Buildings Council warned that “the addition of soft furnishings can alter acoustics”, while the Victorian Society said that “carpets tend to create a domestic appearance [and are] at odds with the beauty of the ecclesiastical interior”, even warning that a blue carpet would make a church look more like a “bingo hall or doctor’s surgery”.

Such objections could now be sidestepped. Previously, a parish required court permission to introduce cushions if they might “result in a change to the overall appearance of the church”. Under proposals to be put to the church’s General Synod for approval, churches will now only require permission when it would result in a “major change”.

Upholstered chairs will remain discouraged, however.

The Church of England has pledged to reach net zero by 2030, but there are fears that churches with tiny congregations and empty coffers will struggle to fund eco-friendly overhauls.

A presentation by Catherine Ross, the Church of England’s sustainable churches officer, on low-cost eco-friendly changes noted: “Pew cushions and rugs … help people keep their body heat and remain comfortable in church.”