Cathedral Dean 'hopeful' after appeal response

Peterborough Cathedral thanked supporters and described their help as "heartening"

The Dean of a city cathedral said he remained hopeful after more than 1,000 people donated to a fundraising appeal.

In January, Peterborough Cathedral said it needed to raise £300,000 by the end of March to remain open seven days a week and avoid having to consider entrance fees.

The Very Reverend Chris Dalliston confirmed £200,000 had been raised so far but warned financial challenges remained.

He said the budget for building maintenance, services and activities had been "trimmed significantly" since the appeal.

"We might have to sell some of the buildings," he warned. "But that's our last resort as some of them are generating revenue for us, so it would be a short-term result for what could be a difficult long-term solution.

"We want to not just achieve the target this year, but also form relations with long-term supporters and build that regular support base who will help us move forward in a more sustained way rather than a hand-to-mouth way."

The Very Reverend Chris Dalliston said the cathedral remained "hopeful"

The Church of England has funded two key positions at the cathedral, and recent events such as the Longest Yarn have attracted thousands of new visitors to the building.

"We remain consistently hopeful," Mr Dalliston said.

"By the end of the month, we want to get to a situation where we can look forward with a certain amount of confidence which will enable us to plan more consistently in the future.

"But the challenges won't easily go away as the cost of running these buildings is huge."