Work has started on a new £250,000 community hall that is being built on a church car park in Bradford.

The Parochial Church Council at St Mary’s Church Laisterdyke is leading the scheme, which is expected to be completed by June.

The building is being constructed on half of St Mary’s Church’s current car park on Parsonage Road.

Priest-in-charge, the Rev Jane Trenholme, said: “Once this ‘hub’ is complete, people of all ages will have a safe and accessible place to meet and take part in a wide range of community activities. It is fantastic to see work start and we cannot wait to see it finished.”

Once complete, it is said the new hall will be a warm, welcoming and well-equipped venue where the community can meet up to have fun, receive support and advice and learn new skills.

It will be accessible to wheelchair- users, people with limited mobility and parents and carers with pushchairs. It will have meeting rooms, toilets, a main hall, kitchen and storage space. It will also boast an energy-efficient heating system.

A large amount of the funding for the work is coming from the church itself through activities such as table top sales and sponsoring a brick, and from the sale of the old St Mary’s Church on Pawson Street to the E:merge Youth Project.

Funding is also being provided by several other sources including WREN, Clothworkers Trust, the Diocese of Bradford and the Veolia Environmental Trust who have awarded a grant of £14,300 through the Landfill Communities Fund.

The church already operated a programme of community services and activities such as after-school clubs, day-care for the elderly, mother and toddler sessions and Christmas and Easter events for local schools. However, space was limited so the church started planning the new building. It consulted the community and received overwhelming support for its plans.

McNabb Laurie, executive director of the Veolia Environmental Trust, said: “We support community projects up and down the UK and it is always great to hear about the start of one we are helping.

“When it is complete, this new facility will boost the community of Laisterdyke and I look forward to hearing about it thriving.”