Work to turn a former church in Burntwood into a community venue has been given a £180,000 boost.
Burntwood Town Council has been awarded the money by the government’s Community Ownership Fund.
It will support the renovation and modernisation of Chase Terrace Methodist Church.
Cllr Darren Ennis, leader of Burntwood Town Council said:
“After a lot of hard work and determination from residents, councillors and officers, we are absolutely delighted with the amazing news that Burntwood Town Council has been awarded this funding.
“Saving this much-loved local building and protecting it for generations to come is great news for the community and represents a significant investment in our town.
“We have a strong voluntary sector in Burntwood, and we can’t wait to welcome local groups and organisations to the building.”
Cllr Darren Ennis
The funding comes after a local campaign saw the council buy the building in December.
Cllr Sue Woodward, chair of the policy and resources committee, said:
“It’s been a long road and at times a hard one, but this is such good news for our town.
“We’ve had a number of unwavering supporters all along the way who, along with former church members, never doubted that we would reopen as a community venue in the end.
“We also had around 1,000 local residents sign the petition in a very short time period to get the building designated as an Asset of Community Value.
“This truly has been a real community effort and I thank every single person who has been behind the project.
“We’re ready to go ahead now to get another community space that our town needs and deserves. I know it’s going to be something we can all be proud of and I can’t wait for it all to start happening now.”
Cllr Sue Woodward
There has been some very hard work done by Darren and Sue – and others. I am particularly pleased that the public investment, in the form of an earlier grant, that Sue was instrumental in getting for the community room and environmental improvements has not been lost to a private developer. Whilst sad that the church was not able to continue this will be an excellent facility for the Chase Terrace community.
Well done to all involved and its good news that this magnificent looking building is being brought back into use instead of being demolished/ converted into flats or left to rot and decay.