CIRENCESTER Baptists are applying for permission to change the old social club in Chesterton into their new church.

The club, opposite the Shell garage in Chesterton, has been unused since it was repossessed by Cotswold District Council earlier this year.

Formerly the home of a snooker club and a skittles lane, the building is now up for auction.

Senior Pastor Matt Frost has been organising fundraising efforts for the new church and looking into potential new venues for their growing congregation.

He said: “It’s not particularly attractive but it’s in a good location and big enough for us.”

“If we do get it we plan to refurbish it and put in a 500 seat auditorium and save lots of spaces for use by the church and the rest of the community.”

The planned work would take longer than 18 months after the winning bid if the Baptists are lucky enough to secure the site.

Church staff plan to keep the youth club they run operating and to allow other organisations that use their current space to carry on at the new building if they wish to.

Matt said: “It’s not just a building for us to use, it’s for the whole community.”