DESPITE almost doubling in price due to an expensive catalogue of delays, work is nearing completion on the renovation of Stourport Wesley Methodist Church - and hopes are high for its future.

Relieved Rev Paul Booth explained costs for the building work - which began in November - had rocketed from an anticipated £350,000 to £630,000 due to unexpected findings such as walls that were collapsing and plasterwork that needed repairing.

It was also decided that the 18th century listed building had virtually no disabled access and this needed rectifying, he said.

The project hit the headlines - and costs also grew - after a group of residents blocked the path of a crane hired to dismantle scaffolding from the church roof in April.

The crane, which cost £1,500 a day to hire, was eventually sent away and the church had to foot a bill for £5,000 for the extra time the scaffolding was up.

As he prepared for the church's grand reopening and rededication service, on Saturday, September 24, a proud Rev Booth took the Shuttle/Times & News on a guided tour of the church.

"One of the reasons it has cost us more is the contractors have insisted on doing the best job possible - if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well," he said.

"For at least the last two years, every winter, the church has had its services in the church hall because the heating hasn't been working so it will be really nice to come into a warm place where we don't have to put chairs out every Sunday and then take them away again."

He explained the church had received more than £350,000 in grants from English Heritage, Severn Waste Environmental Fund and the central body of the Methodist Church and its congregation of around 60 had also coined in a massive £140,000 over the past five years.

It is now hoping to receive money from the sale of another church in Highley - but Rev Booth admitted that even with this there was likely to be a shortfall that would need to be filled by the congregation "either putting their hand in their pocket or raising money".

Those who have - and still are - tirelessly raising funds to safeguard the future of the church have been rewarded by having their say in the creation of a glass screen dividing the main body of the building from the coffee shop.

An etching on the screen is being designed by Midlands artist, Amanda Lawrence, based on the wishes of the church's 60 strong population, who requested it featured images of the River Severn, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal and Methodist Church founder, John Wesley, who preached there in the 18th century.

The work of the hard-working congregation is not over, however, as their generous donation of time is also needed to ensure the "exciting future" of the building.

Not only will volunteers - including the congregation of other churches in the town - run the coffee shop, which will double as a drop-in centre during the week, further funds are needed to make over the church's grounds into a peaceful spot where shoppers and workers can escape the busy High Street.

"We've got the historic part that we need to maintain but we're also making it usable in the 21st century," Rev Booth said.

"We don't want it to just be a church here on Sundays - as soon as the building work is finished we're going to work on the garden and it will be open for everyone during the week.

"There will also be a coffee bar open as many days as possible."

More information on the open day or helping with the church can be obtained by calling Rev Booth on 01299 826641.

Lengthy history of fund raising

IT has been a tumultuous 20 years for Stourport Wesley Methodist churchgoers who had to raise £35,000 less than two decades ago to buy the land it is on.

That was after a 200-year lease of the land - on which peppercorn rent was paid - came to an end in 1988 and the owners demanded the church community abandoned the building or generated the cash to buy the land it was on.

It took two years to accumulate the necessary funds - during which the building was unable to be used and maintained - according to Rev Booth.

He explained: "I've only been here five years but since 1988 the church people have had difficulties.

"The church was built in 1788 and the land it was on was rented on a 200-year lease at a peppercorn rent.

"Two hundred years later, most of the people who owned the land had no idea - but some discovered they owned it and they wanted the land back or the church to pay for it and there was a protracted dispute."

He added: "It was eventually resolved but the church had to raise £35,000 to buy the land and the premises deteriorated in that time because they couldn't use the building or maintain it.

"Over that time, there was no heating and they discovered after that there were serious structural problems."