After a four-year closure, St Mary's Anglican Church in Waipukurau is being readied for its reopening.
Congregation members welcomed a recent $110,000 grant from the Lotteries Heritage and Environment Fund, which they say has not only completely funded stage one of the earthquake strengthening, but also the "lion's share" of stage two of the work.
"This means the [church] tower can now be fully strengthened," said Alan Sutherland, spokesman for the local subcommittee tasked with strengthening the 1929-built church.
Strengthening work started in April on the church, which was closed by the standing committee of the Diocese of Waiapu at Easter in 2014 after it was rated at just 13 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS).
Back in June, Sutherland said that once completed, stage one of the project would sufficiently strengthen the main body of the church to allow it to reopen, while also ensuring the church tower posed no risk to life in a severe earthquake.