В Бисхопс-Касл запущена срочная кампания по спасению исторической церкви от обрушения

Heritage conservation professional and local resident Sue Cooper MBE has been appointed as The Third-Place Community Outreach Ambassador and lead Fundraiser for St John the Baptist Church in Bishop’s Castle. The appointment marks the launch of an urgent, multi-million-pound campaign to save the historic building from structural failure and transform it into a vibrant local hub. The building’s rescue has become a race against time following its recent addition to the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register, meaning the structure is now in imminent danger of being lost. Welcoming the appointment, the Priest-in-Charge and project group chair, the Reverend Stephanie Fountain, said: “It is a true blessing to have Sue living here in Bishop’s Castle. Her prominence in community and heritage mean she brings a professional level of guidance to this project. While the need for physical repairs is deeply urgent, this is also a beautiful opportunity. I look forward to opening our doors to a space that is more welcoming for our church family and a truly inclusive hub where the whole community can gather, connect, and enjoy this magnificent building together.” The ambitious project aims to address two distinct phases: professionally repairing the exterior fabric of the building and reordering the interior with respect for its historical fabric. The structural changes will fulfil the vision of a “Third-Place” project, designing an inclusive community space capable of hosting wide-ranging local events and celebrating Bishop’s Castle’s extensive town history. This vision stems from a comprehensive Community Consultation launched two years ago, which validated overwhelming local support for making the historic church accessible and useful to the entire town population. Commenting on her new voluntary role, Sue Cooper said: “For the last 40 years, I have loved living in South Shropshire and Bishop’s Castle and am delighted to be involved in this project, which has the potential to be transformational for the community. We already secured £10,000 from lottery Community Fund to support some development work and we know that the approximate costs to professionally restore the fabric of the building and reorder the interior for wider use by Bishop’s Castle’s residents will be over a million pounds. We are currently in the process of project development and making funding applications to the Lottery’s Heritage Fund and Historic England.” Sue concluded that continued community outreach will ensure any changes to the building will support and enhance its use and appearance bringing benefit to local people, environmental sustainability and heritage conservation Sue brings a track record to the project, having been awarded an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to conservation. As the founder and former leader of the national charity Caring for God’s Acre, she led on the establishment of the UK’s foremost organisation for conservation of burial grounds.