A WOOLSTON church has been given the green light to proceed with essential modernisation works after it struck gold with a cash boost courtesy of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

St Martins Church, off Gig Lane, has been awarded a total of £29,200 to put towards disabled access to the 39-year-old building.

The cash is part of a £431,987 landfill windfall for Cheshire that comes from the Landfill Tax Credits generated by the Waste Recycling Group Ltd.

At its March board meeting, environmental body Wren, the largest distributor of Landfill Tax Credits in the UK, decided to allocate a slice of the cash to St Martins after it applied for funding.

The work will involve extending the existing hall toilets to incorporate a disabled facility and ramp, electrical modification to both the interior and exterior of the church, car park repairs and connection of drains to the main drainage system.

Eric Andrews, senior church steward at St Martins, said: "We have been fortunate to have our application for funding accepted and this is great news for the church and for the community that uses it."

l Projects applying for grants from Wren, which distributes and administers the Landfill Tax Credits generated by Waste Recycling Group, are assessed by an individual panel of locally based experts in each county for their suitability, sustainability and community benefit.

Anyone thinking of applying for a grant should log on to the website www.wren.org.uk before contacting Wren on 01953 717165.

And communities looking for a new hall or centre can enter the 2004 Waste Recycling Group Village and Community Hall Challenge, which has two prizes of £250,000 for the winners. The deadline for entries is July 31.