The pastor of a Christian centre in West Yorkshire says he’s “thrilled” after receiving a grant which will enable his congregation to move into a larger building.

Andy Freeman from Elland Christian Centre said they had run out of space at their current building and would now be moving to Providence Chapel, a former funeral home nearby. The Grade II listed building was built in 1822 and has been vacant for the last two years.

The grant of £15,000 from the National Churches Trust is being used to help renovate the former chapel of rest and restore it to a place of worship.

This includes adding a kitchen and accessible toilets and also converting an existing horizontal lift which had been used for transporting coffins, to a vertical facility.

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust, said:  "The National Churches Trust is delighted to be able to support Elland Christian Centre to enable them to carry out changes to their new beautiful building – Providence Chapel – that they have acquired, which will protect important heritage and help to support even more people in the community.”

Pastor Andy, who runs the centre with his wife Andrea, said:

"We are thrilled to receive a grant from the National Churches Trust to help towards the renovations of Providence Chapel.

“This grant enables us to continue to develop the churches’ capacity to serve the people of Elland through the activities we provide and the groups that we run and host.

"This grant will be foundational in securing the continuation and development of these groups and others that will no doubt develop in the future.”