A 1950s church in the heart of Buttershaw will be flattened next week as part of innovative plans to improve community services.

Demolition work on St Aidan's Church, which dominates Lastingham Green, has already begun while a new place of worship is being built alongside the estate's Healthy Living Centre.

Connected by folding doors, the new church will adjoin a GP surgery, dental care facilities, advice centre and children's health club.

The project is part of the regeneration of Buttershaw and has been organised jointly by St Aidan's and Royds Community Association.

Minister for Shelf and Buttershaw, the Reverend John Springbett, said he was not aware of any other Anglican church being built in the country, let alone one integrated with a GP's surgery.

He said: "To have a new building is very exciting indeed. The doctor at the Healthy Living Centre is a Christian and very much in sympathy with the healing of the whole person - in body, mind and spirit."

Church Army Officer Captain Roy Wheatley, who is part of the staff team at St Aidan's, said he was sad to see the old building go, but that there was also great joy in seeing the new one grow.

"It probably seems quite zany to be connecting a church to a doctor's surgery, but we're really excited at the new opportunities it will bring," he said.

St Aidan's Church, incorporating a hall and vicarage, was built in 1958, but the structure quickly deteriorated leaving high repair bills. The new church in The Crescent will be completed in May and consecrated by the Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend David Smith.

The Archdeacon of Bradford, the Venerable Guy Wilkinson said: "We are really committed to developing our ministry in urban areas like Buttershaw in partnership with other churches and with community-based partners like Royds. This initiative is an exciting new way of showing God's love for people in a challenging area".

Buttershaw Healthy Living Centre GP, Dr Cordelia Paterson, added: "I think the new link between the church and the Healthy Living Centre is vital to community work in Buttershaw."