Published at 12:49, Friday, 25 January 2013

MARYPORT’S harbourside Christ Church will be closed for several weeks after a gas leak.

The Rev Gill Hart, Maryport team rector, said there were several problems that needed investigation and it would be at least mid-February before they would be completed.

She said: “We made the decision to close the church on Thursday last week after a gas leak was detected.

“It would appear that the boiler may need replacing. Like many of our churches, it is old and no longer meets modern requirements.”

The church roof also requires expensive annual maintenance.

Mrs Hart added: “We spend money patching it up each year but eventually the roof may need to be replaced.”

For most of the last 18 months the vestry was deemed unsafe because of a dangerous wall in the King’s Arms pub next door, which was threatening to fall onto the church.

It led Allerdale council’s building team to warn the church not to use its back rooms and vestry in case of a collapse.

Publican Brian Robinson was issued with an order to have the wall fixed but left the pub before work was finished. Thwaites Brewery agreed to carry out the work, which was finished late last year.

In the past few weeks, however, water has entered the vestry.

Mrs Hart said the former pub was now in private hands and all parties were trying to reach a solution. She said parishioners would be kept informed of progress on the church.

Christ Church parishioners have meanwhile joined services at St Mary’s Church.

Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk