Vicarage to get £25,000 refit for training scheme

A West Bromwich vicarage is to get a £25,000 revamp in a move to welcome ministry trainees to the church.

The Holy Trinity Church vicarage, which was built in 1845, has been loaned funding to refurbish the third floor of the building.

Work will include converting the third-floor rooms into two bedrooms, a lounge with kitchenette and a bathroom.

The funding will also pay for heating and furniture, and the space will be home to a maximum of two ministry trainees who will work at the church and in the community.

Some remedial work needs to be done to the Burlington Road building before the work on the rooms can take place.

The funding from the Walter Stanley Trust was approved on Monday.

The objectives of the Walter Stanley Trust are the promotion of the Church of England religion in the West Bromwich Deanery, through making grants to the Lichfield

diocese.

The funds loaned to the church will be repaid over a five-year period.

Rev Neil Robbie said: "Currently the rooms on the third floor are unheated and uncomfortable.

"My wife and I are very passionate about offering these posts, so it will be good to offer them somewhere comfortable to live when they come to work with us."