URGENT repairs to the roof of a church in Drefach Felindre will go ahead after years of waiting thanks to lottery funding.

The Grade II-listed 19th-century Saint Barnabas Church has been gifted £116,200 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to bring the Church in Wales building back to life.

The £116,200 will be used for “roof and ext­ernal fabric affairs and supporting activities”, with the committee behind the bid receiving a Development Phase Grant of £12,200 to begin preparation work this month.

The project has received a “first-round pass” for the extra funding, which means the project meets HLF criteria for funding and HLF beli­eves the “project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money”.

Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully­ developed proposals to compete for a firm award.

Once final plans are submitted, the church is likely to receive the full grant totalling £116,200, HLF said.

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