THE skyline of Oswaldtwistle has an imposing new addition after the steel structure for a new £500,000 church was built.

The frame for the Christian Institute Church’s new £500,000 building now stands in Union Road.

After more than a decade in the pipeline The Christian Institute, also known as the Melbourne Street Church, is on target to reach its March 2009 deadline The new church is just metres from its original chapel in John Street when it was formed in Oswaldtwistle 107 years ago.

The building, which will match the town's predominantly stone built, slate roofed buildings, is the first major development in Union Road since the opening of the Co-Op.

The congregation revived fundraising for the church in 2003 when they launched a campaign and started applying for grants to build a new church on land in Union Road.

Chris Brindle, secretary of the new building committee and trustee of the church, said: “The steel frame shows the scale of our new building and it looks huge.

“We have waited a long time for this and we are very much looking forward to opening next spring,”

“We take our place in the community very seriously and we believe this new building will enable us to go from strength to strength.”

The Christian Institute bought the derelict site in Union Road for £75,000 11 years ago, then in 2006 sold the site for the church in Melbourne Street.