HAWORTH Parish Church could close for up to three months so the next phase of a £1.25 million restoration programme can take place.

The historic Main Street building is likely to be closed during the spring and summer.

The Reverend Peter Mayo-Smith said the temporary closure was mainly planned so the building’s leaking north roof could be fixed.

Work will also include installing a disabled toilet and access at the church’s north entrance and a kitchenette.

"This is costing at least about £250,000," he said.

"We’re expecting the church to be closed from late April or early May, all of June and possibly most of July, though we’ll have a much clearer idea once the tenders have come back.

"Fixing the north roof will mean the church is finally water-tight. It hasn't been as bad as the south roof was, but during the heavy rain we’ve had recently we’ve still had some water coming in.

"It’s good to know that we’ll be able to remove all the buckets.

"If we're having a disabled toilet fitted we want to make sure that people with disabilities can get into the building. The north entrance has two very heavy wooden doors which need to be held open to help people in, so the idea is to have a button fitted so people in wheelchairs can get in by themselves."

He added that the closure would be necessary while the contractors’ built and worked from scaffolding, but said the church would would continue to operate from alternative nearby venues.

"We’ll have use of the Old School Room, just over the road, and if we can’t access that building at any time we’ll join up with the services at St James’s in Cross Roads."

The Rev Mayo-Smith said while the north roof work was the last measure needed to keep out the water, there were still plenty of further improvements planned for the church’s interior.

“The whole building needs redecorating inside,” he said.

“We need to take a look at the electrics, put right the areas where there has been water damage in the past and we’d also like to explore the possibility of having a PA system.”

He emphasised that the appeal to fund the church's refurbishment was still ongoing and that people could visit haworthchurch.co.uk for more details.

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