THIS is what fundraisers at a Waterside church hope their long-awaited new building will look like.

Friends of the United Reformed Church in Hythe are gearing up for a final push to reach their £2m target needed to finance the ambitious project.

Fundraisers still need to find the remaining £300,000.

The front section of the existing 1914 building will remain but will be substantially changed on the inside.

The rear section will involve complete demolition of the existing hall and ancillary buildings.

Most of the money for the development will be donated by the United Reformed Church Wessex Synod which has pledged £1m, leaving local fundraisers to match the six-figure sum. Money has been raised from other charitable trusts, statutory bodies, church members and the congregation.

At a special meeting to review recent progress, fundraisers agreed that they still believed very strongly in what they were trying to achieve.

The Rev Simon Thomas told the Daily Echo: "For quite a while we seemed to be a bit stuck and it wasn't moving forward very fast over the last year.

"People gave what they were going to at the start about two years ago but then the money started to come in more slowly and it looked like we would be struggling to keep up with inflation.

"We always wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing and not being extravagant. We have looked at it again and there's a renewed sense of enthusiasm and a joyful seriousness.

Donations of £15,000 were made at the meeting alone.

Fundraisers want to build a state-of-the-art building on the present church site at New Road to serve the needs both of the congregation and the local community.