PARISHIONERS at an historic York church which is facing a £500,000 repair bill which may force it to close could be thrown a lifeline by English Heritage.

But first members of St Laurence Parish Church, in Lawrence Street, need to decide whether it is realistic to work to save the church building as a place of worship, given that they would still face hefty running costs once any repairs were done.

The problems - which include dry rot in the roof timbers, decayed high level stonework, defunct heating and condemned electrical wiring - were revealed after a section of pinnacle blew down from the church's spire in stormy weather on the same day that a tourist was killed when masonry fell from All Saints' Church, Pavement.

More than 100 parishioners attended a public meeting - chaired by the Archdeacon of York, the Venerable Richard Seed - in the church hall, to discuss the building's future.

He told them: "No decision has been made. It is entirely up to the feeling of the parishioners of this parish."

Architect Richard Carr-Archer, who carried out the church's required five-year survey, highlighted that about £140,000 had been spent on the church in the last ten years before outlining the repairs that were needed.

Previously the church had failed to get repair grants from a range of sources including English Heritage.

But Giles Proctor, historic buildings architect for English Heritage, told last night's meeting there was now new hope.

He said the rules governing the body's church grants scheme were set to change in April and would mean St Laurence could apply for a grant. The church's Grade II listed status had previously exempted it from funding.

Grants could cover up to 90 per cent of the cost of a project within a £200,000 ceiling. Schemes larger than that would be judged competitively on a national basis.

A grant could also be applied for to fund 75 per cent of any exploratory work needed to assess the problem.

But the Rev Brian Gant, the priest in charge at All Saints' Church, North Street, who has been taking services at St Laurence, told the meeting: "It is wildly unrealistic for this congregation to keep on this building, and I say that very sadly."

He said the 800-seater church attracted about 50 to 60 worshippers to its main service. Even if the building was restored to its original condition, he added, the congregation could not afford the ongoing maintenance costs.

The meeting agreed that members of the parish's church council should now consider the options open to the church.

Updated: 11:56 Wednesday, February 27, 2002