Twenty ‘Golden Tickets’ are up for grabs for people to get a view of restoration work on the historic St Luke’s ‘bombed-out’ Church in Liverpool.

Liverpool City Council and Historic England are jointly funding a £150k programme of structural works, which has meant the church and gardens have been closed since October.

Now a restoration open day is to be held on Thursday 14th January from 1pm – 2pm where a few lucky people will have the opportunity to take a look inside the Church while the work is underway and learn about the restoration process from the architect, specialist contractors and heritage officers.

People wishing to request a place must email melanie.lamb@liverpool.gov.uk by midday on Wednesday 6th January 2016, with tickets limited to two per application.

For health and safety reasons, only people who have been notified that they have been successful and issued with a ticket will be allowed admission to the site.

Councillor Mark Norris, the council’s Heritage Champion, said:

“St Luke’s Church is one of the city’s most loved landmarks and we know that people feel very strongly about it.

“The Open Day is a chance for people to find out more about the expertise and skills that are used to carry out important heritage projects, as well as seeing the historic structure close up.”

The majority of the 6,300 people who responded to a recent consultation over the future of the church were supportive of limited development and events taking place at the site including the installation of toilets, food and drink facilities, seating and a performance area.

In the new year, the city council will invite expressions of interest from operators to run the site.