PICTURES have been published showing how one of Huddersfield's biggest churches will look.

Architects have released details of the new Huddersfield Christian Fellowship Centre, which is planned for a former industrial site on St Thomas's Road, Folly Hall.

Work on the 2,000-seat church is expected to start early next year.

The Fellowship has grown enormously since members first met in 1987 and has outgrown its two previous homes.

Pastor Colin Cooper said: "Building a new church that will seat 2,000 is a rare venture in a time when average church attendances are shrinking,

"But we need a contemporary church that is suited to our needs.

"Our congregations have continued to grow, so much that we are introducing double services on Sundays at Harvest House, the former Comet electrical store on St John's Road.

"The services will be at 9am and 11.30am to cater for the hundreds of people who want to attend.

"We all agreed that new and bigger premises were necessary.

"We work in the surrounding area, providing food parcels for the poor and asylum seekers, working with young people and the elderly and also putting on seminars.

"It was decided a purpose-built church would be best suited to meet the many needs of a growing community."

Huddersfield-based Aedas Building Surveying is heading the project and has designed the new building for the 3.7-acre plot.

The site was part of the former Brook Motors factory.

The new church will incorporate a two-storey entrance atrium and a main auditorium seating 1,5000 people, with an additional 500 seats on a first-floor balcony.

There will also be several function rooms, some of which can be used for concerts.

There will be a bookshop, a coffee lounge, a children's play area and teaching rooms, too.

Outside, there will be landscaped gardens and a 250-space car park, plus room for coaches.