New church hall for Ballykelly Presbyterian Church

The new block will be built onto the original hall, replacing the stable block currently at the rear of the building. Rev Alan Wilson explained: "At the moment, there is the original hall, which will be retained, and at the back of that there is the stable block - so called as that is where the Minister used keep his pony and trap many years ago. The stable block will be removed and a new block will be built there, attached to the original hall."

Although the exact cost of the new build is not yet confirmed, Rev Wilson said it will be substantial. He continued: "There is a lot of fundraising going on at the moment as the cost will undoubtedly be substantial, though we have no definite figures as yet.

"The new block will incorporate a new kitchen, new toilets and a dedicated youth area, as well as other multi-purpose rooms.

It will add vibrancy to the church and hopefully to the whole community. The hall will first and foremost be for the congregation, but hopefully it will be for all the community as well.

"The new hall will be a fair size, it will probably be the same size as the existing hall, but it will have an upstairs which we don't have at the moment."

The original hall was built 114 years ago, the Rev added: "Considering how long the old hall has been here I think it's fair to say that it owes us nothing, but the time is clearly right for a new, modern hall to be built.

"We are not sure exactly when work will begin, the plans are currently with the planning office, but I would hope that work would start in the spring or early summer, and I imagine it will take around a year to complete