Support for church sale

St Luke's Church in Blakenhall opened in 1861 - but closed two years ago and is in desperate need of repair work estimated to cost £1m.

It is next to St Luke's School, which was the birth place of St Luke's FC - which went on to become Wolverhampton Wanderers.

A proposal has been lodged by developer Czero Developments with Wolverhampton council to transform the building into an antiques emporium.

This has now received the support of the Diocese of Lichfield, The Church of England and the vicar of the parish of St Luke's, Richard Espin-Bradley.

In a document to the council, Andrew Mason from the Diocese of Lichfield, which has agreed to sell the building for £1, said: "I write in full support of this application to bring back into sustainable use this iconic Grade II listed building.

"This property is in a poor state of repair, appearing as it does on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register being designated as in 'very bad' condition.

"The proposal to convert the closed church into an antiques emporium, thus repairing and opening the church up to the wider public to enjoy is to be warmly welcomed."

Alan Guthrie-Jones, special projects manager at The Church of England, said: "This church was closed for regular Anglican worship in 2015 and the commissioners were pleased to secure what they regarded as a suitable alternative use of an antiques' emporium after informative and helpful negotiations with the council's conservation officer and Historic England."

Converting the building into an emporium will not require a large amount of work, say the developer.

There will also be a cafe, office and toilet at the site. Parking for 25 vehicles would be provided.

The congregation moved into the adjacent St Luke's School.