A senior member of Bingley Methodist Church has dismissed suggestions that Mornington Road Methodist Church could be spared.

New treasurer Jeremy Burgess said it would be futile to try any longer to find alternative uses for the Grade II listed building which they want to demolish.

He was responding to Shipley and Bingley Labour MP Chris Leslie's call for a six-month stay of execution while its future could be reassessed.

Mr Burgess said: "We are a vibrant community of about 40 to 50 members and feel that we can make a major contribution to Christian worship in Bingley and would be more effective if we were able to take this millstone from around our necks and get rid of a rotten old building.

"No doubt one or two people have expressed a view that it can be used for something else but it has been up for sale for five years and there have been no takers.

"I would remind Mr Leslie that he was involved in a group that was involved in trying to find an alternative use for the building and had ample opportunity to achieve the sale. Unfortunately he failed to do this.

"It really has reached the end of its life and its condition is a real worry to our members.

"It is not in a very good condition and is deteriorating seriously. We believe that the case has been made very clearly and are confident that we have every justification for demolishing the building."

He said the plans by Leeds architect Nick Allen, a specialist in church buildings, would result in a modern church covering approximately one third of the site. Residential home type houses and flats would be built on the remainder.

He added that Mr Allen had carried out an extensive feasibility study and concluded that it was totally impractical to convert it into residential use.

Methodist lay preacher Dorothy Sharp said: "I certainly believe that it should be kept and I oppose the demolition.

"But at this stage I don't wish to comment further until I have seen what is proposed."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.