Local Church Receives Grants of Over £200,000

Date published: 15/06/2004

A Grade II listed church in Newhey will get a new lease of life thanks to repair grants from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. St Thomas, Newhey will receive a development grant of £17,000 and a repair grant of £193,000.

The latest round of funding announced today under the Repair Grants for Listed Places of Worship scheme will provide £3.192 million towards the repair of 30 historic churches and religious buildings in the North West, from North Cumbria to South Cheshire. The funding is part of a £17 million package nationally for 200 religious buildings.

Malcolm Cooper, Regional Director of English Heritage, said: "This latest round of funding will pay for urgent repairs to some of England's most loved places of worship. One of our main priorities is to promote wider appreciation of such buildings and the grants announced today will not only help to secure the repair of many places of worship but will also provide guaranteed access for the public."

Tony Jones, Heritage Lottery Fund Regional Manager for the North West, said: "Religious buildings play a vital role in towns and villages across England. Today's announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring that these cherished buildings are safeguarded for the future."

All public listed places of worship in England are eligible to apply for a grant under the Repair Grants for Listed Places of Worship Scheme, where there is a requirement for both very urgent repairs to the fabric and a significant level of financial need. Priority is given to single repair projects costing less than £200,000.There is a two-stage application process with development funding available in stage one to help work up proposals. Applications are considered in two annual batches.

Launched in April 2002, the Repair Grants scheme continues a partnership between English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund to support places of worship that has been in place since 1996.Today's announcement will bring the total awarded under the scheme so far to nearly £38 million, benefiting over 450 buildings

The major investment is also helping to open up our wealth of ecclesiastical heritage for everyone to enjoy by securing access for all visitors, whether or not they are worshippers.