Conservation is high among the Northern Ireland issues which Alistair Lexden is pursuing in the Lords.
The devolved government in Northern Ireland recently made a major grant to help preserve a magnificent church in North Belfast. Private sector support on a large scale is now being sought on a cross-party basis in the Lords as Lord Lexden explained in a letter published in The Belfast Telegraph.
Read the letter in full below:
Alex Attwood, the Environment Minister, deserves huge praise for his decision to provide £400,000 for urgent conservation work at Carlisle Memorial church in Belfast (News, February 9).
In making a very substantial grant, the minister has demonstrated his confidence in the Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust, which has taken on the challenge of restoring the building and putting it at the service of the north Belfast community.
A cross-party initiative has been launched at Westminster by Lord Dubs, the former Labour NI minister, and by me, a Conservative peer with a long-standing interest in Northern Ireland. Those who respond to our appeal will visit the church, helping to support the preservation of Belfast's heritage.
LORD LEXDEN
House of Lords, London SW1