Churchyard project gets £200k of lottery funding

Nearly £200,000 of funding has been awarded to a project to help manage Anglican churchyards across Coventry and Warwickshire.

The money would help churches and local communities to manage their churchyards as "treasured green spaces and wildlife havens", the Diocese of Coventry said.

The £195,176 comes from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Seventy churches have signed up to the biodiversity and heritage project, set to be delivered with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Caring for God's Acre, the diocese said.

The project would provide specialist staff and also involve more people in activities designed to improve both access to the sites and their biodiversity, according to a spokesperson.

Development funding from the Heritage Fund would also help progress plans to apply for a full grant of £1.79m at a later date, they added.

Jacqueline Ladds, diocesan secretary and chief executive, said: "Churchyards hold fascinating stories of local people and their families.

"We hope to uncover and celebrate these stories and reconnect local people with their place."

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