Parish church near Sleaford raises funds to start work on new facilities

St Denis Church, Silk Willoughby has raised enough funds to start works to install a toilet and servery to improve the facilities for residents of Silk Willoughby and the wider community.

Janet Johnson, Church Warden, believes the facilities will make a huge difference to the lives of people living in the area.

She said: “This project will provide a real boost to the people of Silk Willoughby and surrounding area. It’s fantastic that FCC Communities Foundation has awarded us this money and we’re really looking forward to our church taking shape over the next four months.”

FCC Communities Foundation is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Penny Horne, spokesperson for FCC Communities Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Silk Willoughby St Denis’ Refurbishments project and pleased our funding will make such a difference to so many groups of people within Silk Willoughby and the surrounding villages.

"FCC Communities Foundation is always happy to consider grant applications for projects that benefit local communities and we’re looking forward to this one having a positive impact very soon.”

Janet Johnson hopes the new amenities will be ready to use by the end of July 2022.

St Denis’ Church is increasingly used by the local community as a venue for concerts, lectures and craft fairs, as well as bell ringing guild meetings and annual Heritage Open days.

The church has hosted festivals with over 400 people in attendance and the parishioners’ wish is for these events to be safer and more inclusive.

The servery would mean they can cater for those events by being able to offer a hot drink for visitors and those people helping at such occasions. They say it will be hugely beneficial to be able to wash dishes, store crockery and keep everything clean and hygienic.

Currently with no toilet provision, visitors have to cross a busy road to visit the village hall, several hundred metres away. Alternatively they rely upon the goodwill of the local publican, but this is also a distance to walk and not suitable for those with mobility issues.

Villagers are looking forward to the works being completed ahead of planned events this year.

FCC Environment is a leading UK waste and resource management company which donates the landfill tax credits that are generated by its operations to FCC Communities Foundation, in order to add value to the environmental and social infrastructure of the communities around landfill sites.

Any waste that is discarded which cannot be reused, reprocessed or recycled may ultimately be disposed of in a landfill site. To encourage the re-use, recycle and recovery of more value from waste and use more environmentally friendly methods of waste disposal, Landfill Tax is charged on each tonne of waste sent to landfill. Landfill operators are able to redirect a small proportion of landfill tax liability to support a wide range of

community and environmental projects around landfill sites through the Landfill Communities Fund.