Church revamp funding lost
8:57am Thursday 29th July 2010 in News
Church revamp funding lost
A PROPOSED futuristic multi-million pound community centre has been dealt a major blow after hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding was withdrawn.
All Souls Church in Astley Street, Halliwell, has been told by The North West Development Agency (NWDA) that it will no longer receive the £600,000 previously allocated to it.
The set-back means the groundbreaking project work will now be delayed until next year to give the organisers time to raise more cash.
The project started five years ago when residents joined forces with the Churches Conservation Trust to seek funding.
Peter Aiers of the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) said: “We remain committed to the project. We have contingency plans in place and a fundraising strategy will now begin to help reduce the shortfall.
“Work scheduled to start at the end of the year will be delayed, but there are no plans at the moment to scale back the vision for the building.”
The Grade II listed building will provide youth and education activities, job services and will also act as a cafe and a drop-in centre for the elderly.
It may also provide a health centre, a dental surgery and a base for police. The facilities will be housed in two spaceage free-standing glass “pods”, which will provide high-level walkways with views of stained glass windows inside the church.
The project is being funded by a £3.3 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, while CCT has provided £250,000 and Bolton Council has invested £150,000. The team has also secured £50,000 of “landfill funding” from Biffa.
The NWDA cuts will also affect the Church Wharf regeneration project, which would have transformed the area around the parish church into a multi-use quarter with retail, entertainment and housing sitting side by side.
A council spokesman said: “The potential for funding from the NWDA was at the discussion stage and funds had not been allocated. The funding was not a significant component of the project.
“Nevertheless, we will be discussing the news with developers to review the position.”
Inayat Omarji, secretary of the All Souls Crompton Community Centre Committee, said: “We will overcome this set back. We can step up our fundraising drive to fill the shortfall and realise our vision.”
Anyone interested in providing funding for the All Souls project should get in touch with fundraisers by going to allsoulsbolton.org.uk.
