The St Aelred’s Pilgrim Trail Society said the funding would enable them to develop the plans and undertake specialist work needed to explore how the Grade-II listed church in Cold Kirby could be conserved and adapted.
The money will help the project investigate its conservation, design, access, planning, environmental, business and operational requirements and prepare its proposals for the next stage, the society said.
The society said the proposed hostel, called St Michael’s Lodge, “would add a place of affordable accommodation and welcome within that wider network, while also serving visitors who come to the North York Moors for waking, cycling, horseriding, heritage and recreation”.
North of England National Lottery Heritage Fund director Helen Featherstone said the church was “an important part of the North York Moors’ heritage” and the funding would help “safeguard its heritage for future generations”.
