Almost £100,000 has been awarded to a church in Llangollen to help it adapt to meet the needs of the twenty-first century.

St Collen’s Church, which dates from the seventh century, plans to make space for a stage, add toilet facilities and improve the heating and lighting of the Grade I listed building. The aim is to create a more flexible and inclusive space to act as a community hub to be enjoyed by a variety of local organisations.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded St Collen’s £94,886 for the first phase of the work which, subject to faculty consent, will be carried out over the next 12 months.

The Priest-in-Charge of St Collen’s, Father Lee Taylor said: “We are absolutely delighted to hear that the Heritage Fund has made this substantial grant available to us.

“It will enable us to start work on our long-standing vision to re-order the church in a way that will enable it to better meet the needs of the current century.

“We have gone to great lengths to ensure that the transformation is carried out in a way which is entirely respectful of the many historic assets of the building, and which will allow local people and visitors to access and admire them more easily. That includes the glorious medieval hammerbeam ceiling and its priceless carvings and the legendary Ladies of Llangollen’s tomb in the churchyard.”

St Collen’s is one of only seven places across the UK to receive National Lottery Heritage development funding to finalise plans for creating community hubs for engagement, education, creativity and wellbeing. The plans to transform St Collen’s Church, known as The Genesis Project, are being led by a small group of local volunteers. The team has consulted with regular members of the congregation along with local people on plans for the changes.

Father Lee added: “The church has always been the focal point of the community and is always here to serve the needs of the community. In wide consultations on the Genesis Project, carried out over the past few years, there was widespread approval and support for what we are aiming to achieve with our re-ordering.”

St Collen’s Church is part of the Valle Crucis Mission Area, one of 20 Mission Areas which make up the Diocese of St Asaph. St Collen lived during the 7th century and his feast day is celebrated on 21 May each year.

The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses making up the Church in Wales, an autonomous province of the worldwide Anglican communion.