Mirfield church’s 250k bid for lotto cash

An appeal was launched last December to raise funds for urgent repairs to St Mary’s Church in Church Lane.

And the deadline for the parochial church council to apply for financial help from the Heritage Lottery Fund has now passed.

The council has asked for £250,000 to repair the clock tower and roof where huge chunks of stonework have started falling away.

The Rev Helen Butler said: “The application has taken a massive amount of work – it’s a huge thing to do.

“It’s a very complicated project because there are so many inter-related factors.”

In order to get the grant, the church must raise £40,000 itself and hopes to do so by the end of this year.

This week a calendar of fundraising events was being drawn up, which could include a flower festival and a youth music festival.

The Yorkshire Building Society has already made a £250 donation and £500 was raised through a scrap gold collection.

The Rev Butler said: “People in the community are working together to do really nice things for us so we are really proud of that and really thankful that people are helping.

“We would like anybody who has got a spare fiver, or more than that, to support us by donating. If they are thinking of their late mother on Mother’s Day and they want to do something in their memory, that would be great.”

If the Heritage Lottery Fund bid is to succeed, St Mary’s must also show that it is doing work to benefit the whole community. As such, church members are looking at converting the church’s side chapel into a classroom for visiting schools.

The church will find out if the Heritage Lottery Fund bid was successful in June.

Visit www.mirfieldteamparish.org.uk or donate at www.justgiving.com/mirfieldteamparish to support the appeal.