A BORN-AGAIN Christian group has announced plans to build a £500,000 two-storey church and youth centre complex in Loughton.

Elders at Goldings Church, in Englands Lane, Loughton, want to construct the proposed centre in Valley Hill road to provide a place for young people to socialise and gain religious support and help.

They are also concerned that their current church - which would remain as a 'sister' place of worship - is getting too popular for its capacity.

Pastor Jeremy Sandy, who is spearheading the scheme, said Goldings Church had more than doubled its congregation in the last two years.

He said: "There's lots of reasons behind what we're doing, but what we really want is to create a place for the whole community to appreciate.

"It's going to be somewhere where young people can come in after school or college. We're going to have things like a gym and boxing club, an internet café, a milkshake bar and rooms for after school clubs.

“We also want to have two drop-in centres for people with disabilities and other difficulties, and a teenage pregnancy service where we can give support and advice, not just about things like abortion but foster caring and adopting.”

Under the proposals, which Pastor Sandy hopes to submit to Epping Forest District Council by this summer, the youth facilities would take up the first floor of the building, with a 120-capacity church on the second floor.

He added: “What's driven me to do this, in a nutshell, is a love for Christ and a love for people.

“This is a chance for us to give our young people another way of understanding that a better life without violence and crime is possible, and that the Bible gives a very clear way of how we can do that.”

The cost of the building has already been raised by private donors, with some pledging as much as £100,000.

Pastor Sandy said the site, which is already owned by Goldings Church, has a covenant on it stating it must be used for religious worship.