A VOLUNTEER group dedicated to restoring their village church that has been closed for three years is working on a business plan to boost grant donations.
The Friends of St Mary’s Church (FOSM) was set up to help save the grade II listed church in Middleton-in-Teesdale for future generations.
The church was shut because of the discovery of dry rot beneath its floorboards, which had spread to some of the pews.
Middleton-in-Teesdale resident and founding member of the group Jennifer Smith said: “We’re taking baby steps, but we are moving forward.
“Repairs to the drains by the north wall are underway, so that’s a start to preventing the church from becoming damp again.
“The gate to the wild flower meadow was repaired by our very own Ted McFarlane, so we can now access the notice board in there. The unsafe east gate was replaced very kindly by Middleton Forger and they are also working on the main entrance west gates. We are very grateful.”
A first draft of plans for the kitchen and toilet area in the north aisle have been received by the Parochial Church Council following a preliminary meeting with an architect.
She said: “We hope to meet with the architect soon to discuss those drafts and then on to the next stage of architectural designs for the restoration of the church.
“On the money side of things, the coffee mornings and domino drives are going splendidly thanks to the incredible work of our fundraising organisers and helpers.”
The group have been awarded small grants to help towards the payment of work to date, but she added larger amounts of money will be needed.
Ms Smith said: “We can’t really apply for large amounts yet as we don’t have any concrete quotes for the full refurbishment.
“When the architects have finished their designs and put costs on everything we can go ahead and start applying for the big bucks. To that end we’ve been working on a business plan which has been a lot more time consuming and complicated than we’d hoped for.”
