Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards has expressed his delight at a church in Scotland being awarded a grant of £10,000 for some much-needed improvements

St John the Evangelist in Wick was allocated the money as part of a £338,600 funding payout from the National Churches Trust (NCT).

Edwards, who is vice president of the NCT, said: “I’m delighted that St John the Evangelist, Wick is being helped with a £10,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant.

“The grant will facilitate the installation of a much needed accessible toilet.

“This will safeguard unique local heritage and help St John the Evangelist continue to support local people as we begin to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Some 52 churches and chapels in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will benefit from the latest round of grants awarded by the NCT. The NCT has dolled out a total of £944,000 so far in 2021. 

In 2020, the trust awarded - or recommended on behalf of other funders - 260 grants totalling £1.7 million.

Vestry Secretary, Jeanette Harper, told the John O'Groats Journal that the congregation "was delighted to be awarded £10,000 from the National Churches Trust".

"The overall cost is estimated to be £88,000 and the award takes us to within the last few thousand pounds of our goal," she said. "Having taken five years to get to this point, it will be fantastic to at last be able to start work on a building project that will be a valuable asset to both the church and the wider community."

The NCT calls itself the "charity for people who love church buildings" and says it is "dedicated to supporting places of worship of historic, architectural and community value used by Christian denominations throughout the UK".