Plans for £200,000 sliding door at Truro Cathedral

Truro Cathedral's accessible entrance is expected to cost more than £200,000

A new entrance to make Truro Cathedral accessible to all is expected to cost more than £200,000, leaders have said.

The scheme, to include a new sliding door, would replace an existing accessible entrance at the side of the building, said fundraiser Judith Field.

Planning permission had already been granted, she added.

Ms Field described the current accessible entrance as "tired and tatty".

She said the heavy wooden door at the top of the ramp was "difficult to open", adding: "We want everybody to be able to come into the building and to enjoy being with us."

A fundraising scheme would be launched, she said, to raise the £200,000 bill for a ramp, sliding door and changes to the building to facilitate the works.

"Wouldn't it be lovely if people can approach and the door slides open and they can come in easily," she said, adding the entrance would be both for those with mobility difficulties and people with pushchairs and prams.

Helping people to feel welcome, added Ms Field, would mean they were "off to a good start".

She said the "newer" part of the cathedral which is home to the entrance was built in the 1980s and was in "desperate need" of an upgrade.

Discussing upkeep more generally, she said works to St Mary's aisle, the oldest part of the building and part of the original church, were progressing well with a reopening date planned for April 2024.

She said a number of trusts and funds supported these projects and fundraising was "a bit like a jigsaw".