A BEWDLEY church will receive a £100,000 grant to address urgent roof repairs to the building.

St Anne’s Church, in Load Street, has been awarded the grant through the Government-funded ‘Listed Places of Worship: Roof Repair Fund’ launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a UK-wide budget of £15million.

The money is part of a wider funding package of £30 million to 502 historic places of worship across the UK.

Thirty four parish churches across the West Midlands, including St Anne’s Church, will now be made weather tight, safe and open for use.

Reverend Keith James, the rector of Bewdley and Wribbenhall, said: “It’s amazing. When we submitted the bid, we did not expect much, if anything to come of it – there are lots of church building in need of help.

“However, St Anne’s does need a lot of work and we are very grateful for the opportunity this gives us to finally make the building water tight and safe.

“The money will help us make the building water tight, which is a fundamental issue in looking after the church fabric. St Anne’s was built with poor rainwater goods which have meant that water has been coming into the fabric for a long time now.”

The church is a Grade II* listed building located in a visible position in the heart of Bewdley town centre. The church suffers from continued rainwater ingress which is badly affecting its structure.

Most recently, parts of the Chancel ceiling cornice have become unstable and have had to be removed as a result of water ingress. After a previous inspection, roof, drainage and ceiling works were undertaken in 2010 at a cost of approximately £100,000, which was funded from the church’s own resources.

A more recent inspection in March 2014 outlined further urgent work required over the next twelve months to the whole building. The support from the ‘Roof Repair Fund’ will enable the building to continue to be used as a place of worship and for a wide range of community activities throughout the year.

The Right Reverend Dr John Inge, Bishop of Worcester and lead bishop for the Church of England’s cathedrals and church buildings, welcomed the news.

He said: “The parish churches of our land are jewels in the crown of our national heritage. As such, though cared for by Church of England parishioners, they are everyone’s heritage and we are very grateful that this has been recognised by the Government through these grants for essential repairs.

“This will enable these wonderful buildings the better to be used to serve the communities at the heart of which they stand, now and in the future.”