Wem church repair fund reaches £80,000 start point

Repairs to Wem's historic church are on track to start this summer after fundraising hit the magic £80,000 mark.

Campaigners at St Peter & St Paul Parish Church in the High Street need to raise £140,000 for work on the church tower which dates back to the 1350s. Peter Faulknall, chair of the appeals committee, has revealed that the committee is now ready to apply for planning permission.

He said: "When we launched the fundraising appeal last April we set ourselves a target of three years, so we are well on our way to that.

"Now we have £80,000 we can apply for permission and start the work on the tower.

"We hope to apply to the diocese by the beginning of May, it takes about six weeks and then we have 28 days public notice.

"It means we could start doing the work in July or August and get it carried out through the summer months."

The tower, which features bullet marks from the Civil War, has suffered erosion over the years.

Work will include replacing some of the stonework and stopping water leaking through some of the joints.

The funding appeal for the church is the largest undertaken in well over a decade. A further £40,000 will be spent on the 90-year-old church organ and £20,000 will go towards restoration work on the eight historic bells.

A number of events have been organised to raise the remaining £60,000 including a flower festival in June.

Mr Faulknall said it promises be a spectacular event: "The church will be full of flowers, with the theme Queen and Commonwealth.

"We are also hoping to have a flag to represent each of the countries in the commonwealth too."

On April 21 The Midland Choral Choir will put on a concert from 7pm, with the theme the Queen's Birthday.