Team vicar the Rev Sam Duddles said: “For years we’ve had a church hall that wasn’t fit for purpose, and land that wasn’t being used to its full potential. This will give us a church hall that people will definitely want to hire – for Slimming World, pilates, yoga, meetings, parties and so on.

“It will be built in keeping with the houses nearby and the church. So it will feature brick and some wooden black cladding. We also hope to make it as environmentally sustainable as possible, so we hope to install solar panels on the roof and a heat pump.

“The demolition of the buildings that were previously here and the building of six new, modern houses has already made a difference. There’s now a new walkway between Battenburg Avenue and Compton Road, which is a public right of way and makes things so much more convenient for people living here.

“We love the new plans, but we’re keen to see what other people think too. If people have suggestions for how to make it even better, we’d love to hear them – on April 29, if possible. We’ll have people from the Hive and the Wildlife Trust there to talk about our outdoor space, plus councillors and members of the local community.

“A church and a church hall are supposed to be community spaces that local people use, so we want them to be hired. This should make a massive difference to our part of North End.”

The church will ask for planning permission later in the year, and then hope to start building work after that. For more details, see: St Nicholas Church Facebook page or the website here.