THE future of a Stockton church destroyed by fire 13 years ago will not be decided until next year at the earliest.

Holy Trinity Church, in Yarm Lane, was gutted by a blaze in 1994, and a survey found most residents would like to see it demolished.

But councillors and local historians have called for the building to be maintained and turned into a floodlit gateway to the town.

Last year, a feasibility study by Stockton Council found that bolstering the ruins and making them safe would cost £145,000.

Other options included demolition, which is opposed by English Heritage, or spending £1.5m on encasing the ruins in a watertight shell and building a footpath through them.

The study found that erosion was making the walls unstable and a risk to passers-by. Its favoured option would be to stabilise the ruin, which would include renovating pinnacles, walls, balustrades and individual stones.

Coun Stephen Smailes, leader of the Conversative group on the council, said: "The council has dillied and dallied over this for far too long.

"The place has architectural merit and is part of the history of the town. It should be maintained and the council should make a decision soon."

Robert Harbron, chairman of the Norton Heritage Group, said: "I think the ruin should be lit up at night and used as a gateway to the whole town."

But a council spokeswoman warned that no decision would be made in the near future.

She said: "Capital resources are very limited and, in this budget cycle, members will not be making a commitment in the coming year."