More than 160 residents in the Trinant area have backed a campaign to save a 102-year-old church from closure.
Crumlin councillor Keith Lloyd and fellow ward councillor Vera Jenkins collected the petition, signed by more than 160 people, opposing closure of the 102-year-old Christchurch in Aberbeeg.
The local church council has said it was asking the Bishop of Monmouth the Right Reverend Dominic Walker to declare the 102-year-old building redundant blaming low congregation numbers, high maintenance costs and structural issues.
But the Bishop of Monmouth has said no decision had been made about the church’s future.
Councillor Keith Lloyd, who is a member of the Friends of Christchurch, said: “I believe it is important to keep religious services going at the church, which is a listed historic building with a unique tower.
“Set on a hill overlooking the Western Valley, visitors are always taken photographs of the church, because of its idyllic setting. This is a campaign which has support across the boundaries of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent. It must be kept open.”
Fellow Crumlin councillor Vera Jenkins and Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “Although I’m not part of friends of Christchurch, the building is a local landmark which stands proud in the community.
“The church should have kept the building in a better state of repair with community use which as of now has not happened. I accept Christchurch, like many other churches, have faced falling numbers but is important because of its status that Christchurch is not closed.”
Parish priest, Reverend Patrick Coleman, told The South Wales Argus in January that the cost of repairing the church to a safe standard could be as much as £40,000. He added the cost of making it “fit for modern day use” would go into six figures.