AN historic Huddersfield church has been given a new look – to bring it bang up to date.

And officials hope the renovations have transformed it in to a community venue.

Church members at St John the Evangelist, in Golcar, have removed the pews to create a more open venue for the use of church services, concerts and events.

The Victorian building has also had its kitchen, heating and toilets replaced, and members have improved access for the disabled.

The work was made possible by a building group spearheaded by churchwarden Helen Davies and Harry Gwinnett.

Helen said: “We are and will always remain a place of worship, however we had a clear vision, we knew we wanted to see our building more widely used and share it with the local community.

“The renovations had previously been delayed due to the church needing to raise around £150,000 to make changes.

“But we were awarded almost £50,000 in funding from Biffa Award, a multi-million pound pot that helps build local communities through awarding grants, allowing for building work to start.”

Further grants also came from Kirklees Council’s Area Committee, the local By and Buy shop, Huddersfield Common Good Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Bishops Development Fund, Co-operative Community Fund and the Allchurches Trust.

Local companies and individuals helped pay for the new kitchen, toilet and new meeting room.

Helen added: “We knew we had to raise about £150,000 and this seemed like an impossible hill to climb.

“It just goes to show that with a lot of hard work from volunteers and the generosity of a few, great things are possible.”

The building will be open to village groups, including Sing in Golcar and a fitness group and has also attracted a number of new organisations following the renovations.

The church also hosts uniformed organisations such as the Brownies, as well as luncheon clubs, the community choir and several organisations’ weekly meetings.

It will also be used by the local schools, with events such as the Easter journey, which allows children to learn about Easter in a more fun manner.