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Lottery hope for church arts centre
PLANS to convert an historic New Mills church into a community arts centre have passed a major milestone.
The St James the Less Preservation Trust is purchasing the Grade II Listed St James' Church, on Spring Bank, when it closes as a place of worship to convert it into a flexible, intensive-use arts facility.
In order to do this, the Trust will be seeking substantial grant aid and hopes the Heritage Lottery Fund will be its biggest supporter.
And it has been encouraged by the news that the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded it a pass to the Round One Application stage.
Philip Kendall, Chairman of The St James' the Less Preservation Trust, said: "St James' has served the people of New Mills for over one and a quarter centuries. We need to put it into good shape for at least as long again.
"This whole project is an expensive undertaking. In order to restore the church and provide the additional space will require nearly 750,000.
"We are delighted that our Round One Application has been passed. We know there is a lot of competition for lottery support. Although this does not guarantee us funding yet, we will now be making a bid for 500,00 in the knowledge that they are impressed with our development planning. This is a milestone for our Trust."
The Heritage Lottery Fund has previously committed 24,000 to the Trust's costs for development planning and, together with approving the planning to date, has offered a further 13,000 towards specialised advice on conserving the stained glass, wall paintings and underlying Victorian paint-scheme in St James'.
This has enabled the Trust to employ a team of experts to report on the heritage significance of the church, its potential future use for a wide cross section of the community – including its role as a learning resource – and have drawn up the plans for its restoration and new identity.
Architects Bernard Taylor Partnership Ltd have blended together a reconfiguration of the existing church with some sensitive new build in order to provide a combination of spaces that will comfortably house community groups, workshops, performances and exhibitions.
An application is currently with High Peak Borough Council awaiting planning and listed building consent.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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