Campaigners fighting to save the threatened St Mary's Church on East Parade, Bradford, say that the church establishment needs to modernise rather than simply abandoning the buildings.

They might well have a point. Around the Bradford district there are some wonderful examples of ecclesiastical architecture, particularly some of those dating back to Victorian times.

Many churches do end up demolished or converted to flats or retail developments because the cost of repairing the buildings is simply beyond the reach of church funds.

A case in point was the Methodist Church on Mornington Road, Bingley, which was demolished a couple of years ago despite a similar campaign from parishioners.

Churches of all denominations are facing the dilemma of how to maintain their infrastructure in the face of, in many cases, dwindling congregations.

Perhaps, as the St Mary's campaigners suggest, it is not just a case of upgrading the bricks and mortar but also about modernising the entire appeal of church.

This doesn't necessarily mean a wholesale shift towards trendiness and contrived bids to appeal to young people - it can simply mean making the buildings available to a wide range of community groups and encouraging more use of the facilities across the board.

If churches can make themselves more relevant and vital to the communities they stand in then they might not find raising funds to carry out more physical repairs as much of a problem.