Leaders of a Spalding church built 140 years ago are confident that work to make it into a 21st century community asset will start this autumn.
Fundraising is well under way at St John the Baptist Church, Hawthorn Bank, to raise money for a major redevelopment of the building to make it suitable for its members and other groups to use.
It is hoped that work on the £90,000 project will start in November and provide the church with a new beech floor, wooden chairs to replace the existing pews, new heating, lighting and sound, a choir room and better access for the disabled.
Most of the money is coming from an undisclosed legacy from former church member Peter Langford who died in 2010, but the church is also keen for the community to get involved by making a donation towards new seating.
The Rev Peter Garland, vicar of St John’s, said: “Planning for the redevelopment is a lot further forward than it was six months ago and we’ve had detailed meetings with the architect, surveyor and sound engineer who have all been doing a lot of good work.
“We’re getting to the stage of applying to the Diocese of Lincoln for planning permission to do work on the outside of the church and we’ve already had agreement in principle from them for what we’re doing.
“Our focus is to try and reach a point where we get all the consent we need and a detailed specification so that redevelopment can start in November.”