Grant to help Black Country church renovate facilities

Pelsall Methodist Church has been granted £74,000 by the Biffa Awards’s Community Building fund to begin work on refurbishing the roof and carrying out other essential renovations to the church.

This includes renovating the walls on the former Victorian school rooms, which are used as community rooms and attached to the church building.

The rooms are used regularly for a range of activities by the community in Pelsall, as well as being a base for the Walsall North Foodbank.

The repairs come at the right time for the church, as the original roof from the building, which dates back to the 19th century, had become very unreliable and needed extensive work.

Rev Liz Dunning, Methodist minister at Pelsall, said the award of the grant was a great help to the church and to the community.

She said: “I am delighted that the hard work of the church and community groups has been recognised with this generous grant from Biffa Award.

Asset

“These rooms have been an essential resource to Pelsall and its residents, and the work to refurbish the roof will mean that it will continue to be an asset for decades to come.”

Other community representatives gave their views on the award by Biffa, which helps community and environmental projects across the country through the Land Communities Fund.

Stephen Grimsley from North Walsall Foodbank said: “This work is much needed and will make a big difference in maintaining our operations going forward.

“We are very grateful to both Biffa Award and Pelsall Methodist Church for their initiatives and generosity in making this project possible.”

Wendy Morton, MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, said: “Pelsall Methodist Church is at the heart of the local community and it is wonderful to see that work is starting on the renovations to their roof and community rooms.”