ST GEORGE’S Church in Modbury has received a £20,000 grant from the National Churches Trust, signalling that work can begin on major repairs to the roof and tower.

Churchwarden and Parochial Church Council treasurer Alex Hammerstein said: ‘We’re delighted as it means we’ve secured all but £5,000 of the funding needed to repair the roof and the tower. We hope to start the work in March, and are aiming for completion in November 2016.

‘We needed to raise £540,000 in total. With this grant, money raised in the local community and the £250,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund received earlier this year, it means we’ll be able to secure the future of the building for another 100 years.

‘St George’s Church in Modbury is a dominant feature of the town. With these urgent and essential works completed, the functionality of the building will be guaranteed and its external appearance secured. The completed project will result in a building that is not only welcoming and interesting to visit, but efficient to run and flexible to use.

‘This living monument of Modbury’s history is a focal point of a thriving and growing community - a widely-used community facility catering for a diverse range of activities, particularly musical events due to its excellent acoustics.’

Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, vice-president of the National Churches Trust said: ‘I’m delighted that this Christmas, the future of St George’s Church, Modbury is being safeguarded by a National Churches Trust grant. This funding will help ensure that this beautiful church continues to serve local people for many years to come.

‘At the heart of the nation’s history and at the centre of local communities, churches and chapels are some of the UK’s best loved local buildings. But their future is not guaranteed.

‘So this Christmas, when people visit a church for a carol service or even just walk past a church on the way to do the Christmas shopping, I urge them to think about how they can help ensure that churches remain open and good repair for future generations.

‘Everyone can make a contribution to the future of the UK’s church and chapel buildings. That could be by helping to clear drains and gutters to help keep churches watertight, volunteering to help out as a guide to show people the history and architecture of places of worship or keeping an eye out for vandals or thieves.

‘Churches and chapels may be historic buildings, but they can be part of our future, too.’