THE president of the Methodist Conference in Britain has visited Malton’s Methodist Church to learn more about its vision to re-invent itself to meet the needs of a growing population.

Reverend Steven Wild was joined by the Reverend Stephen Burgess, the chairman of the York and Hull District of the Methodist Church, and Reverend Tanya Short, the Minister of the Methodist Church in Saville Street.

The president heard more about the church's plans for its mission and outreach, as well as proposals for the regeneration of the Grade II listed property to better equip it – not only for worship in the 21st century – but as a community hub.

The historic church, which has been on the current site in Saville Street for more than 200 years, considered options for its continuance in the town following the discovery of significant structural issue with its roof in September.

The discovery followed a routine maintenance inspection of the property, following which the building was temporarily closed on the advice of safety consultants.

The church has now started the process of undertaking repairs to the roof. Some of this work will be covered by insurance, and the church is also making an application under the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund for a grant to help meet the cost of repairs.

Rev Short said: “It was a huge privilege to be able to welcome the president of the Methodist Conference to our church here in Malton.

"Reverend Steven Wild is a fantastic ambassador for the church – and he understands the challenges we have of meeting the needs of our growing community in Malton – especially with a building that was designed for a different age, more than two centuries ago.

"Those challenges are significant, and so we have work to do.”

The president also heard about plans to transform the interior of the building, to create a large multi-functional gathering space on the ground floor, including a new suite of meeting rooms for use by the community, along with catering facilities.

On the upper level, a new 350 seat auditorium would be planned, able to host large public meetings, and conferences, and also doubling as a concert venue, as well as a place for the continuance of worship in the present building.

Paul Emberley, a spokesman for the church, said: “This is undoubtedly an ambitious project and we have quite some way to go to be assured that this is a scheme that can really fly.

"We need everyone’s support, but first and foremost, we think it will help to address the need for a central place in a fast growing community, open to all – and it will also allow us to regenerate a much-loved building, for use by everyone, and to ensure its sustainability for many more generations to come.

"We need to get this right, and we hope to be in a position to share more specific details of our plans in a couple months from now, and we’re confident that public opinion too will get behind our vision.”

While the Saville Street Church is undergoing repairs, Methodists in the town are sharing worship with Malton Baptist Church, in Wells Lane.