AN Appleton church has received a generous donation to help towards the resurfacing of the car park.
David Wilson Homes North West has donated £1,000 to St Mary Magdalene’s Church.
As well as going towards resurfacing the car park, which has fallen into ‘disrepair’, it will help with the installation of a bike rack to provide people with an alternative way of visiting the site.
In addition to St Mary Magdalene’s regular church services, the building is used weekly by 15 groups who require the building to provide activities and services for the community.
These activities and services include Rainbows and Brownies, dance classes, and a community café.
Julie Bennion, hall booking secretary at St Mary Magdalene’s Church, said: “A whole host of groups regularly use our church hall for their activities and, because of this, the car park has become worn down over time.
“It is potholed, loose and uneven which makes it difficult to navigate for pushchairs and wheelchair users.
“With this donation, we are planning to install drainage, a tarmac surface, marked parking bays and under-surface ducting and cabling to enable possible installation of car charge points in the future.
“As well as this, we will also be looking to install bicycle storage for community members that wish to cycle to the church instead.”
Like many charities and organisations, St Mary Magdalene’s was forced to close its doors to all of its regular community groups during the pandemic.
The church had to ensure that proper guidelines were followed and the venue was Covid secure for each group.
However, the pandemic also saw an improvement in communications with the groups, as they all sought to ensure each other’s safety in carrying out their activities.
Julie added: “The work of the various groups who use the hall is incredibly important in providing opportunities for people of all ages to meet and socialise.
"The hall helps community cohesion, reduces isolation and helps make our local area a good place to live.
“Support and donations to charities and organisations is vital.
"Without such support, we would be unable to continue to provide suitable facilities for the local community to use. Without this kind of support, facilities would become outdated and unfit for purpose and we would be unable to carry out any major work.
“The Parochial Church Council of St Thomas’s and St Mary Magdalene’s Church are extremely grateful for the support and donation received.”
As well as the members of the church and the groups that use its facilities, the car park is often also used for parents on the school run and other members of the community to use as and when they may need to.
Robert Holbrook, managing director at David Wilson Homes North West, said: “As a leading developer, it is important that we support organisations and charities in our surrounding areas in order to leave a positive impact in the communities in which we build.
“We hope that the refurbishments carried out to the church’s exterior will have a very positive impact on the entire Appleton and wider Warrington area. The church is a beacon of community spirit and togetherness that we are proud to support.”
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