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Orton Waterville: Church to get facelift at last
AFTER more than a decade of hard graft, the idyllic St Mary's church in Peterborough is getting the facelift it desperately needs.
AFTER more than a decade of hard graft, the idyllic St Mary's church in Peterborough is getting the facelift it desperately needs.Fund-raisers at St Mary's, in Church Drive, Orton Waterville, have been collecting cash to fit new toilets at the church for the past 14 years.
However, with cash difficult to come by and facing spiralling quotes for the work, the church decided to apply for funding from Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN) - a scheme which awards grants to environmental, heritage and community projects.
It was awarded 5,000 from the scheme and, since then, has found that the money could go a lot further than fitting new toilets.
Doreen Chambers, the parish church council secretary, who is also part of the fund-raising committee, said: "We thought we would come into the 21st century and provide a toilet for the church and its visitors.
"Unfortunately, it started about 14 years ago, but costs overtook us and prices went up.
"I'd seen that some other churches had been funded by WREN, so I spoke to them about what we wanted and they said they thought we would be suitable. So, we applied, and they accepted us.
"We've decided to have a pod inside the church for a toilet to go in and a place for washing up.
"With that, it grew a bit more and we thought that the church needed a complete makeover.
"So we are having the floor replaced because some of the tiles are scratched.
"We are also having some more lighting, but we haven't started that yet. The walls are also being lime-washed.
"Hopefully, it will make it a lot more comfortable for people because we have quite a lot of concerts here and beetle drives.
"I'm absolutely delighted with the work. I've been on the committee for 14 years and now we are seeing the work being done."
The work has forced the cancellation of the next beetle drive at the church, which was due to take place tomorrow. This has been rescheduled for February 27.
CASH AID: The Rev Richard Hamilton and Doreen Chambers outside St Mary's Church. (METP-25-01-10BD101) Picture: Ben Davis.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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