Work on a new church in Silsden is due to be completed ahead of schedule.

The Rev Jacky Hale said the new Silsden Methodist Church would hold its first service at 10.30am on September 5 — more than a month before the official opening had been planned.

On the day, the new entrance to the church in Kirkgate will be open from 9am for residents to take their first glances around the premises.

Mrs Hale said that while she didn’t expect to get the keys from Keighley-based building company RN Wooler until next week, once the site had been safety-approved, many people had already commented on the stained glass cross feature which can be seen from the roadside.

She told the Keighley News: “People have been stopping to look at the cross, which is built into the stonework of the building, on their way past.

“It is by far one of the most striking aspects of the new design. We are extremely excited about the new church and pleased with the progress the builders have made.

“Everyone who has worked on it has done a wonderful job. We are hoping that the community will think what they have here is an accessible, welcoming, safer place to gather — it should have all the facilities they need and we hope they will feel at home here.”

The demolition of the former Methodist church took place last October. Although the new building is two-thirds the size of the last, it has been designed to be more spacious and includes a kitchen.

Seven houses have been built on land behind the church as part of the plans.

At the time of the demolition, Tim Sharp, from the Kirkgate Project for Silsden Methodist Church, said: “We want more people to come in and use the building and the church itself and we want the groups to come back and bring more with them.”