£182k grant secures the future of church

Sutterton's parish church is to be saved from a '˜bleak future' thanks to a £182,200 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
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St Mary’s Church, in Station Road,has been in a state of ‘disrepair’ for some years - with a leaking roof - but the grant money means work can now begin in the spring to renovate it.

Sutterton Parochial Church Council (PCC) successfully applied for the grant which, along with the church’s own funds, pay for repairs to the building and improvements to its facilities.

The works will include repairs to the lead roof and some of its timbers, extensive masonry work, new toilets built and a proper servery installed.

Local MP Matt Warman said he was ‘delighted’ with the news of the grant: “The inclusion of the church in the 2015 East Midlands Heritage at Risk register highlighted the poor condition of this Grade 1 Listed Place of Worship and the need for repairs to safeguard its future,” he said.

“ I am pleased this has been recognised with a funding award to allow repairs to take place and progress to be made on installing facilities.”

Speaking on behalf of the PCC, church warden David Mossman said: “Over the last year or so, for those of us directly involved with the project, the development phase has been an absorbing and deeply interesting process. There seems to be no end to the things to be discovered about the building and its associations.

“We can now look forward to the reality of seeing the repairs and improvements implemented and making the unfolding story of St Mary’s accessible to everyone.”

He added: “We are incredibly grateful to the players of the Lottery, without whom, buildings such as St Mary’s would face a bleak future.”