WORK is under way to repair the roof of Malton’s historic Methodist church.

The work is the first phase of a proposed £1.5 million transformation of the building to better equip it – not only as a place of worship in the 21st century, but for it to become a centre which visitors and the whole community can use.

The historic church, which has been on the current site in Saville Street for more than 207 years, considered options for its continuance in the town following the discovery of significant structural issue with its roof in September 2015.

The discovery followed a routine maintenance inspection of the property, following which the building was temporarily closed on the advice of safety consultants.

The cost of the £100,000 roof repair is being met through a £35,000 grant from the Methodists who have given to the Fund for Property, £25,000 from the Ryedale Circuit of the Methodist Church, £10,000 from the National Churches Trust, through an insurance settlement, and the cost of VAT, through the Listed Places of Worship VAT Recovery Scheme.

Rev Tanya Short, Minister of Malton Methodist Church, said: “This is a huge step forward for us, and we’re so grateful to all our funders in helping to make this possible.

“It paves the way for us to finalise our plans for the main redevelopment of the building and to start this work in early 2019.”

Following completion of the roofing works towards the end of March, the building will be open every day for visitors, and a permanent exhibition will be displayed about the building and the main plans for its transformation. These include meeting rooms, new cloakrooms, changes to the interior, partly repurposing it as a 550-seat concert hall – including the re-instatement of a large historic pipe organ – and the creation of a new café.

Paul Emberley, development lead for The Wesley Centre project, said: “ We have a tremendous asset here on our door step and once redeveloped, it will help to meet the needs of a growing community in Malton.

“As the largest building of its kind in Ryedale, we intend to ensure its sustainability for many more generations to come; fundraising has been under way for The Wesley Centre since the summer of 2016 and we’re making good progress – but we’ll need everyone’s support in the community to help realise our vision.”