A CONGREGATION is celebrating after taking one step closer to finishing a £500,000 project to restore their chapel.

Members of The Pathway, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, have spent more than two decades fundraising to modernise the Methodist chapel.

And the final two phases of work got underway in March following a £70,000 investment from both Methodist church funds and other charitable grants and donations.

The 30-strong congregation started their campaign 15 years ago when they realised the church roof was in need of replacing and embarked on the £500,000 project to revamp the whole site to make it last for generations to come.

Work on phase one - which involved transforming the rear of the old church into a new chapel along with a kitchen, meeting room and cafe area - was finished in 2016.

And now work on phase two has been completed which included creating an activities space as well as refurbishing a one-bedroom flat which will help provide a stable income of funds for the chapel when it is rented out.

Community groups are already making use of the space which is open to all.

Ian Tallentire, of the chapel's renewal team, said the whole congregation was overjoyed with the result.

"The activities hall is a fantastic space," he said. "We are very pleased and grateful to all the people who contributed towards it."

The third phase, which will include a new entrance foyer with a wider door as well as landscaping and a drop-off point at the front of the building, is set to be completed at the end of this year.

The chapel’s minister, Reverend Bev Hollings, said: “I'm delighted and it's larger than I visualised. We look forward to the community coming and using it."

The chapel has been serving the community for more than 145 years and church members wanted a more user-friendly place for people to meet and worship in.

An open day will be held at the chapel on Saturday, July 28, from 10am until 2pm, which the whole community is invited to.

For more information about the chapel visit middleton-in-teesdale.co.uk or to enquire about the flat call Mr Tallentire on 01388-640200.