A LOCAL church is celebrating the completion of a building project that aims to benefit the whole community.

Colwall Community Church – until recently known as Colwall Free Church – is planning to hold an official opening for its new extension, which is to the rear of its premises in Walwyn Road, on Saturday, April 28.

MP Bill Wiggin and Herefordshire councillor Barry Ashton are the special guests at the ceremony, which takes place at 3pm, and there will then be refreshments served throughout the afternoon as visitors are invited to come in and take a look around.

The new “community room” has taken a little over six months to build, while a new kitchen and disabled-access toilets have also been installed.

The project has been completed without any grants, relying instead on church funds and a host of donations, many of them anonymous.

Audrey Smith, a member of the church for more than 50 years and whose husband Colin is one of its leaders, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with it and are delighted it has all gone so smoothly.

“This whole room has been built with the community in mind, so people can use it for parties or for groups and societies to hold events or meetings.

“We plan to keep hire costs very low to make it affordable for everyone.

“We’ve already had quite a lot of people approach us asking to use it.”

A church dedication service, led by Gary Gibbs from the Regents Theological College, in West Malvern, will be taking place at 3pm on Sunday, April 29.