A SECOND meeting will be held to talk through ‘interesting’ ideas on bringing a historic Saddleworth church back into regular use.
Top of the list, though, is seeking fundraising so up to £125,000 worth of repairs can be carried out at Heights Chapel.
The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) is looking to make the near 300-year-old building, ‘a vibrant meeting place at the heart of the community again.’
And after an initial consultation proved worthwhile, a second one will be held on Saturday, March 9 at 11am at St Thomas’ Church in Delph.
That will look to follow up on ideas put forward including short-term repair goals, including fixing the doors, stopping further deterioration of windows and mending St Thomas’ window.
It has also been deemed £1,650 each year on average would need to be raised to cover maintenance costs, with another £130 for utilities.
But according to the CCT, there is hope as it said: “The initial meeting was very positive, attended by about 30 people from Heights, Delph and the surrounding area.
“Attendees were positive, enthusiastic and keen to help and support CCT in our strategic approach to community engagement and care of the church.
“As a first meeting it was a huge success and a great foundation from which to build strong relations and possibly a Friends of Height Chapel group in the future.
“Some individuals made concrete and practical offers of help and support.”
One way of getting funding may e to apply for money from the CCT as a community initiative project.
These are for conservation, repair and adaptation work, or an activity with a direct physical impact on the historic fabric, proposed by a group interested in using and/or conserving their church.
But more immediate, however, is coming up with a church plan, which lays out how the community and the CCT will be working together to support Heights Chapel going forward.
A spokesman for the CCT told Saddleworth Independent: “We have had some very interesting suggestions for future use of the church and will be reviewing them together with the community.
“However, as there are quite a few important repairs outstanding at Heights, we need to take it in small steps.
“This year, we are planning on opening Heights for Heritage Open Days in September by having a shuttle service run between Heights and St Thomas’, while primarily focusing on fundraising for some of the outstanding repairs.
“We have also got a booking for an A-Level drama performance at Heights that we are very excited for.”
Opened in 1768, St Thomas’ closed in 1963 but the Archbishop of Canterbury granted permission for a local couple’s wedding service to take place there in 2019.
To do that, it had to be proved that several members of the groom’s mother’s family were married and christened in the church since the 1700s.
The problem is that it is at the heart of the community, (whatever, “community,” even means in this context,) it’s at the top of hill in the middle of nowhere 5 minutes walk away from the edge of the moors.
It’s also being used already on an ad hoc basis by local groups who know about it and have access to it.
Much ado about nothing very much ?
Should read, “It isn’t at the heart of the community, etc.”