A HISTORIC Valleys church could be saved from closure – after the Bishop of Monmouth said he was yet to make a decision about its future.

Christchurch in Aberbeeg was set to close after the local church council said it was asking the bishop to declare the 102-year-old building redundant.

It blamed low congregation numbers, high maintenance costs and structural issues.

But a statement from the Bishop of Monmouth, the Right Reverend Dominic Walker, said he was yet to receive any official request from the church council, and no decision had been made about the church’s future.

Rt Rev Walker said when he does receive official notification he will meet the church council to discuss the reasons for its request.

If he then decides it is not viable for the council to maintain the church, the bishop said he would be pleased to meet congregation members and local residents to see if they can produce a “viable business plan”.

Rt Rev Walker added: “I shall not make any decision regarding redundancy until there has been an opportunity, within an agreed time frame, to see if an alternative solution can be found.”

The bishop’s comments were welcomed by campaigners from the Friends of Christchurch, who have vowed to fight the closure.

Llanhilleth councillor and Blaenau Gwent mayor Mike Bartlett said a petition had already collected more than 100 signatures, and he believes it will collect hundreds more.

Aberbeeg councillor Hedley McCarthy said the bishop’s statement showed the situation did not have the “finality” implied by the church council.

He said he had received expressions of support from Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith, and residents from the Rhondda Valley involved in a campaign to save All Saints Church in Maerdy.

Parish priest Reverend Patrick Coleman said last month that making Christchurch safe would cost up to £40,000.

With a congregation of just 11 in a building designed to seat 250 people, he said there was “no way” it could continue as a church.