AS the first stumbling block to a church redevelopment project is removed, it is hoped flagging enthusiasm for fundraising will be revived.

The green light has now been given for architectural drawings to be produced of how the £450,000 development will look.

In the face of numerous delays to the scheme to revamp Burley Methodist Church, enthusiasm was starting to wane.

Philip McDonald, minister of the church, said although £16,000 was raised through various events last autumn, people had started to question when their efforts would bear fruit.

He said: "It is quite difficult to keep up the momentum with the long delay.

"Having said that people have continued to work very hard to make money. Although there has been this feeling of 'when is it going to start?'"

Ron Gray, chairman of Burley Church Services Team, said he too had denoted a certain dampening of spirits in the congregation.

He said: "It has been a long process, we have been at it for the best part of five years.

"People are a bit fed up and enthusiasm is a bit low for raising money."

But church leaders say approval to have the drawings produced by an architect is a big step in the right direction.

Mr McDonald said: "They are the drawings which would be used by whoever carries out the redevelopment project.They would also be used for submission to the appropriate authorities.

"It is quite a big step to get on with the next set of drawings. We hope that later in the year we will be in a position to go out to tender and get started."

Mr Gray, of Rose Bank, said he hoped now people could see the way forward fundraising efforts would be all systems go.

He said: "We are on our way now lets be positive."

The church needs to raise £180,000 locally in order to convert it into a multipurpose, universal suite of premises to house all the activities of the society.

A fellowship room will be created on the lower level and classrooms installed upstairs.

In a modernisation bid pews would also be replaced by chairs in the church.

They needed to raise half of this amount before the formal planning application procedure could commence, which was achieved in March last year.

As the church buildings are grade 2 listed and in a conservation area, protracted negotiations were then entered into, before the go-ahead.

The adjacent school rooms will be sold to bump up the fund and raise the necessary cash.