AFTER years of planning, the first application for a Baptist church in St Peter's, Worcester, is set to be submitted to the city council by Christmas.

Red Hill Baptist Church has been looking for a new venue for over a decade and is currently in the process of buying council-owned land next to the Tesco store on the estate.

At a meeting of St Peter's Parish Council, members of the church's development committee were on hand to show councillors the plans for the 990-square metre building.

Community

A separate community centre would also be built on the one-and-a-half acre site, along with a car park with 87 spaces and six units of affordable housing.

Bob Jenkins, clerk to the parish council, said both the parish council and community of St Peter's were supportive of the plans for a Baptist church on the site.

"What people really wanted was a community centre and a village green with some sheltered housing where elderly parishioners could move to and remain part of the community," he said, "But no one ever had anything against the Baptist church or affordable housing in particular."