Lottery cash rescues church

Jul 4 2008 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

A CITY church was celebrating yesterday after being saved from ruin by a heritage grant.

The six-figure sum from the Heritage Lottery Fund will restore the Holy Trinity Church’s roof, making it watertight for the first time in years.

This comes a month after £1.65m was earmarked for the Grade II listed building's crypt.

The church, at Walton Breck, will spend the £138,000 of Lottery money on restoring its dilapidated roof.

English Heritage selected the church as part of its Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme.

Holy Trinity's minister, Capt Tim Stanford, said: “I'm pleased that our church still has a positive and viable future.

“We have great plans to provide superb amenities that will enable the delivery of a variety of health, education and child-care programmes in partnership with Anfield and Breckside Community Council.”

Last month, the church received £1.65m from the European Regional Development Fund.

That money is being spent on a community-based project for Holy Trinity's basement, currently being run by Anfield and Breckside Community Council.

Plans include a reception area, disabled lift, community hall, training kitchen and council meeting rooms.

A structural investigation was carried out on the roof yesterday by engineers to assess the level of damage to the roof. After this process is completed, the refurbishment work could take between two and three months.

A further £68,000 needs to be raised to complete the roof, which church leaders hope to achieve through donations.

But, without the money from English Heritage Fund, only temporary repairs would have been possible to the Victorian church.

Capt Stanford added: “The starting point is good, to make sure the roof doesn't leak, without which all the other work could be ruined by water coming in.”

Ricky Panter, the Archdeacon of Liverpool, hopes the latest announcement will further strengthen the partnership with English Heritage.

He said: “Local involvement often passes unnoticed but I am delighted to be able to celebrate this.”

In the last five years, the diocese of Liverpool has received around £3m in grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage Repair Grants scheme.