Grant boost for church project

Restoration plans for a historic Stourbridge church have been given a new boost after a conservation charity decided to increase a grant for the work by nearly £30,000.

English Heritage originally agreed to donate £65,000 for much-needed repairs to the grade I listed St Thomas's Church, in Market Street, Stourbridge.

The Express & Star reported last week how the grant had been confirmed by bosses from the charity following their approval of the plans, allowing the work on the church's roof to begin in January. But church leaders today said they had decided to increase the grant to £94,000 instead of the original £65,000.

Around £14,000 of the grant has already been used to draw up the plans and bring in experts. The remaining £80,000 will be used for the repair work to the church's roof which has become worn and leaks.

Grants have also been agreed by a number of other organisations, including the Garfield Weston Foundation, Worcestershire and Dudley Historic Churches Trust and The Alan Evans Memorial Trust, totalling a further £11,000. All of the money has now been added to the £100,000 raised by generous donations from the congregation, friends of the church group and members of the public through an appeal scheme.

Repairs will also be carried out to stonework on the parapets. This phase of the project is expected to take around four weeks.

Chruchwarden Brian Shaw said members were very pleased and grateful to English Hertiage for the cash boost.

"We are in the process of finalising the Building Contract for this work and hope to sign it before Christmas," he said. "This will enable the contractor to start work in the second week of January. When the appeal was launched, our ultimate target of £750,000 seemed a long way off. However, taking account of the funds already raised for the Community Garden and for the renovation of the church organ the amount raised is now approaching £300,000.

"We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the individuals and organisations who have helped both financially and by giving of their time and talents towards this tremendous achievement. However, this is no time to be complacent and we are now planning the next phase of our renovation project."