BUMPER plans to transform Blanchland Abbey into a community hub have been revealed after it received a £41,200 grant from the National Lottery.

Blanchland Community Development Organisation has been awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant under its ‘resilient heritage’ programme, and the Rev. Helen Savage has outlined plans to increase and improve the use of Blanchland Abbey to benefit the whole community.

The first phase of the project will research how the Abbey can be transformed into a resource for education, the arts and also support tourism in the area.

Rev. Savage said: “In the North-East we don’t know how good Blanchland is even though it attracts 40,000 visitors a year.

“The Abbey is at the heart of that and breathes life into the whole village. We want to make it an even better place to work and make people understand what Blanchland is about.

“We want to be able to replicate what’s been done at Hexham Abbey with its multi-faceted approach to social and educational engagements.”

Blanchland Community Development Organisation also hopes to use the initial grant as a springboard for further funding in the long term for heating, lighting and more modern facilities at the Abbey.

The Abbey has received support from the AONB North Pennines Partnership and also the Diocese of Newcastle’s own plan of ‘rural churches for everyone’.

Research and consultation opportunities with residents will be carried out as well as visits to other heritage villages to learn how their methods can be replicated at Blanchland.

Work will begin in March and is due to be completed by Christmas.