An appeal has been launched to raise the final £35,000 to complete an Islamic school.

The Madrassah Bilaal building on Cedar Street has already undergone extensive renovations both inside and out after the former church was bought by the local community.

The madrassah housed within the mosque had reached capacity with officials looking to expand the number of children that could attend classes.

Work began in 2018 but had to pause during the pandemic. 

The new madrassah will be made up of 11 classrooms set over two floors and will include new accessible facilities for special needs students. The final capacity is set to be around 200.

A car parking area has been recently cleared and resurfaced.

A spokesperson said: "The project is now in its final stages and we are looking to complete the interior soon.

"The building was acquired in 2015 and work started three years later. There were delays during the pandemic but work has moved on and the interior is now being completed.

"The new disabled access to the building and classrooms will allow us to cater for students who may not have been able to attend a madrassah in the past.

“There also plans to have a youth centre which will cater for children from the Bastwell area.”

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Much of the building work has been completed and interior fittings are underway.

The former Methodist church building had gone in disrepair and has now found a new lease of life thanks of life thanks to the new build and renovations.

Funds have been raised by a team of dedicated volunteers with donations being made by local families as well as people from across the UK.

You can find out more about the appeal here