A MUCH-LOVED Old Hill church is have its historic tower roof refurbished after funding was secured for a multi-thousand pound project.

Holy Trinity Church has received initial support of £13,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to secure the fabric of the tower roof and stonework.

During the work, the tower will be made structurally secure and watertight, while the pyramid shape lead roof will be replaced and the timber structure repaired and made safe.

The 1970s kitchen in the church centre will also be redesigned to allow a wider variety of food to be served – in the hopes of attracting new groups to use the facilities.

Rev Nick Gowers, vicar at Holy Trinity, said: “We are grateful to God for this grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Holy Trinity Church is a vibrant Christian community serving Old Hill and beyond with the good news of Jesus.

“The Heritage Lottery grant will help us continue using our historical church building for this great task into the 21st century.”

The development project has initially been granted round one development funding by HLF allowing Holy Trinity to progress with its plans. Detailed proposals are then considered by HLF at second round, where a final decision is made on the full funding award of £168,000.

Vanessa Harbar, head of HLF West Midlands, said: “We are delighted that, thanks to National Lottery players, Holy Trinity Church can now progress their plans to ensure that the fabric of this much-loved building is secure and enable more people to visit and enjoy it.”

As part of the work, a heritage programme of events is planned for the building known locally at ‘the church with the Christmas star’ – due to the star mounted on the tower roof which is visible to thousands of homes in Old Hill and the surrounding areas.

Events start with a Heritage Weekend taking place on March 23 to 25, with an open day celebrating local history on Saturday, March 24.

Everyone is invited to join the celebrations, with many people from the local community expected to attend, including families with connections to the church through baptisms or weddings.

On display will be archive registers and other historic documents, along with wedding and baptism outfits.