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£445,000 in grants means brighter future for Lancashire churches
Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage Announce £2.13m Repair Grants for Grade II Listed Places of Worship across the North West The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and English Heritage (EH) have today announced a package of grants worth £6.87 million for essential repairs to Grade II listed churches and chapels across England, with more than £2.13 million of that for the North West. The grants will help repair more than 70 historic places of worship - three in Lancashire - that have served their ever-changing communities throughout history. Holy Trinity, Blackpool, will receive £217,000 for roof, window and stonework repairs, plus remedial work for dry rot; St John the Evangelist, Thornham, will receive £161,000 for re-roofing the north aisle, transept and chancel; St John the Evangelist, Hyndburn, will receive £67,000 for repairs to the gutters. Henry Owen-John, English Heritage's North West Regional Director, said, "England's churches and chapels are the spiritual, communal and architectural backbone of our villages, towns and cities. English Heritage, once again this year, is proud to be supporting the repair of these important historic buildings. We hope our contribution will allow them to remain in use by the communities that enjoy them." Sara Hilton, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund in the North West, said: "People care passionately about their local places of worship, which are often a focus for the whole community as landmarks and buildings where groups come together to worship or mark key moments in their lives. The Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage are helping to secure their future by concentrating on the most urgent repair needs and so making a crucial difference to their long-term survival." Since 2002 more than £133m of essential repair grants have been awarded to almost 1,500 historic places of worship through the joint Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage 'Repair Grants for Places of Worship' scheme, which is the largest single funding source for work of this kind. An Ongoing and Urgent Task The Church of England currently spends £120m a year on repairs but according to English Heritage research published in its Inspired! Campaign in 2006, the backlog repair bill for all listed places of worship in England is an estimated £925m over the next five years or £185m a year. Inspired!, launched in May 2006, identified the need for additional investment from Government and the denominations to help congregations look after their buildings. One of the conditions of the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme is that the public should have a right to see those buildings which have benefited from the public money dispensed via the scheme. Prospective visitors can now search on the English Heritage website for details of how to visit places of worship whose repairs have been grant-aided under the scheme. The list can be found at: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.17628 Examples of how the £2.13m for repairs will be spent in the North West: Greater Manchester: Church of St Thomas, Moorside. Roof repairs, especially that of the Lady Chapel and guttering. £75,000. St Mary's Church, Greenfield. Repairs to the spire. £153,000. Church of St Mary, Balderstone. Repairs to the spire. £149,000. Church of St John the Baptist, Roughtown. Spire repairs. £166,000. Church of St Michael with St Bartholomew, Great Lever. Repairs to the East end and chancel roof. £71,000. Church of All Saints, Newton Heath. repairs to prevent water ingress in the vestry. £82,000. Church of St George, Hyde. Repairs to the West and South sides and tower roof. £103,000 Church of St George, Mossley. Work on the roof and masonry. £153,000. Merseyside: St Nicholas Church, Whiston. Repairs to slate fixings, leadwork and rain-proofing measures. £159,000. Holy Trinity, Walton Breck. Repairs to the roof. £138,000. St John the Evangelist, Knotty Ash. Work on the nave slates and gutters. £136,000. St Mary's Church, Edgehill. Reroofing, timber repairs. £145,000. Lancashire: Church of St John the Evangelist, Thornham. Reroofing for the north aisle, transept and chancel. £161,000. St John the Evangelist, Hyndburn. Repairs to the gutters. £67,000 Holy Trinity, Blackpool. Roof, window and stonework repairs, plus remedial work for dry rot. £217,000. Cumbria: Church of St Leonard, Cleator. Repairs to the roof. £47,000. St John the Baptist, Garsdale, Cumbria. Reroofing, repairs to gutters and replacement of leadwork, total internal re-plastering, repairs to ceilings and lintels. Total £115,000. Website: http://www.hlf.org.uk/ IMAGES OF SOME OF THE PLACES OF WORSHIP RECEIVING GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE ON PA PICSELECT SITE http://www.papicselect.com/ http://nds.coi.gov.uk |
