Church left in 'embarrassing' state transformed

Angela Surtees and the Reverend Bev Hollings are restoring Easington Colliery Methodist Church

A church which fell into an "almost embarrassing" state and faced closure is being transformed into an asset for everybody to enjoy, volunteers have said.

Easington Colliery Methodist Church was deemed at risk of closure in 2022 after the death of its custodian and falling congregation numbers.

It is being renovated into a community café, kitchen, laundrette and event space, while retaining a space for worship.

About £45,000 is being spent on renovating the 1910s building, which is due to reopen in the spring.

Several churches in the wider Easington area have closed - or been placed at risk of closure - in recent years.

Last year, the church's owner agreed to lease the building to Focus Easington, a charity which was set up to save it.

The church in Easington Colliery, County Durham, was threatened with closure in 2022

Angela Surtees, who is leading the renovation project and represents Easington on Durham County Council, said it was an "important" asset to save.

"I’ve seen our Catholic church close, our Salvation Army close, the Wesleyan Chapel in Easington Village close, and also the potential for the Church of Ascension, which was at risk and nearly closed.

"If this had gone, we would have had one offer of worship in this community."

The building is undergoing major renovation work ahead of its reopening in the spring

The project has received funding from Believe Housing, RE:GEN group and Durham County Council.

The Reverend Bev Hollings, who looks after services at the church, said she was "delighted" at the plans to avoid it falling into abandonment.

"It was getting to the point of almost being embarrassed to bring people into a building where the roof was leaking," she told the BBC.

"There was concern about how we could keep it going, also knowing a lot of work needed to be done to bring it up to scratch."

She believed more churches threatened with closure could benefit from being opened up to the wider public, adding: "Heating it once a week doesn’t do any good for the fabric, having people in every day is exactly what they need."