All Saints’ Church, Elm has been awarded a grant of nearly a quarter of a million pounds from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support urgent repairs
The Parochial Church Council of All Saints’ Church, Elm is announcing a grant of £249,959.00 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help deliver urgent repairs to the buildings rainwater goods and drainage to help secure the building for the future.
The church, the oldest remaining building in use in the village,was added to the Heritage at Risk Register, due to significant issues with water ingress and the damage it is causing, approximately 18 months ago. Without this substantial funding from the Heritage Fund its current problems would develop further and likely lead to its potential closure. This project will enable the most urgent work to replace/improve both the rainwater systems and drainage around the church, meaning the building can become much more watertight. This in turn allows even more people to use the building, and once again allows the church to be used for its sacred purpose and to benefit the wider community.
In the longer term, further repairs are planned and, once the building is fully protected from the elements, the ultimate aim of providing a much-requested community hub for the village, whilst, importantly maintaining the church’s original purpose, can be delivered. The PCC works tirelessly to run and manage the church on a daily basis for the benefit of all those who live in the village. Amongst its responsibilities is the maintenance and repair of the building itself. Its Friends Group works to raise funds to help support this work and enable whole community events such as weekly lunch club, seasonal fairs, quizzes and musical events to take place.
More information on updates and progress can be found at All Saints Elm - A Church Near You
Jane Feaviour-Clarke, Churchwarden of All Saints', Elm, said:
I am delighted we have been awarded a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This means that we can begin the urgent work required to make the church watertight again. There remains much more to do, but this substantial contribution of funding, alongside the fundraising efforts of the Friends of All Saints Church together with a further grant and support of the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust, enable us to make a major leap forward in our future plans for the church.
The Rev'd Dr Richard Hines, Acting Priest-in-Charge and Chair of PCC said:
This is extremely encouraging news for the church, the parishioners of Elm and all who use building for services and other events. Without the generous support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, it is likely that further significant issues with the structure of this beautiful and historic building would develop. I look forward to seeing the repairs delivered over the next few months.