Canterbury Cathedral bosses have denied the famous landmark could close to visitors after it lost out on a £10.5m bid for lottery cash – despite the man heading its fundraising efforts claiming otherwise.

An application for funding to support a huge restoration project was turned down by the Heritage Lottery Fund last week.

It sparked claims from the chief executive of the Canterbury Cathedral Trust, Andrew Evans, that the building could “close for business” on health and safety grounds if urgent repairs were not carried out.

But bosses say his comments gave an “exaggerated impression” of the condition of the buildings and decaying stonework, particularly on the iconic Christchurch Gate.

Receiver General of the Cathedral John Meardon said: “It’s true that some parts of the building need more urgent repair than others. But that has been so for a long time and is addressed in our planned programme of works, for which we are continuing to seek funding support.

“The Luftwaffe could not close the Cathedral, despitethe Baedeker bombing raids in 1942, and difficulties with the fabric will not do so now.

“We will continue to welcome pilgrims and visitors from all over the world through the Christchurch Gate, which is rightly one of our priorities for repair and conservation.”

The Cathedral had hoped to put the lottery money towards a £17m project of long-term major conservation work that started more than five years ago.

But it lost out to rival bidders, including a museum of motorsport at Silverstone, a Cornish heritage brewery and Aberdeen Art Gallery.

The Dean, The Very Rev Dr Robert Willis, said “Everyone here is naturally very disappointed with the decision. If the project had been approved, it would have a great benefit to the county, city and local communities.

“We will have to examine the reasons why our bid was unsuccessful before we decide whether to re-submit another next November.

“But we remain committed to restoring the Cathedral and to offering our many pilgrims and visitors a warm and rewarding experience”.

Mr Meardon added: “We were successful with a bid to the HLF in 1998 when we were granted £2.5 million. This time we spent a year preparing the bid to meet the requirements and will want a full and frank discussion with them about what its weaknesses were.

“It means we will have to review our timetable of works but we have achieved a remarkable amount so far.”