AMBITIOUS plans to re-order an Anglican church in Southsea aim to put it at the heart of its local community.

The proposed new entrance to St Jude's, facing the top of the Palmerston Road shopping precinct

St Jude's Church, in Kent Road, is a lively evangelical church that attracts more than 300 worshippers each Sunday. But its current layout causes problems for congregations and makes it difficult for different community groups to use the current meeting rooms simultaneously in midweek.

The long, narrow worship area means worshippers can feel disconnected from the leadership of a service, and the front of the nave is a busy passageway to children‚s groups, vestries, toilets and the kitchen on Sundays.

Plans drawn up by an architect aim to create a semi-circular worship area on the first floor of the current building, turning the congregation through 180 degrees so they face the large west window.

The whole ground floor would then be freed up to use as meeting rooms, halls and a day chapel. The chapel - which would be where the present chancel is - could be available for shoppers, visitors, workers and residents for quiet reflection during the day. The first-floor worship area could be used for funerals, weddings and school services at the same time as the meeting rooms downstairs.

The plans would also involve creating a new modern, south-east entrance facing the top of the Palmerston Road shopping precinct. This would help to counter the impression now given to shoppers that the church looks closed.

The entrance foyer itself would be a place where people could meet for coffee and see displays. The garden outside would be landscaped and open to the public for functions or as a green space. Modern toilet and kitchen facilities are also planned. The external stone walls of the Victorian church building - which was originally built as the centrepiece of Thomas Ellis Owen's Southsea - are being fully restored and will remain largely unchanged.

The re-ordering would help the local community by providing more meeting spaces for groups as well as the new chapel. A survey of residents and businesses last year underlined the demand for the church to continue as a centre for the community. There was support for its use for concerts and exhibitions as well as the known demand for group meeting places and receptions.

The vicar, Canon John Byrne, said: "The proposed scheme addresses problems caused by the use of old, inflexible facilities trying to minister effectively in the 21st century. It will give us a powerful tool to carry forward work and ministry in our part of the city, seven days a week."

Architect Nick Lee Evans will visit a Sunday morning service at St Jude's at 10.30am on November 6 to explain more about the plans. All are welcome to attend the service, which will also mark the launch of the re-development appeal. The project is likely to cost around £1.5m, and will be paid for by sacrificial giving by congregation members and donations from the wider community.

The project is part of the church's response to the bishop's Kairos initiative, which encouraged parishes around the Anglican diocese of Portsmouth to draw up five-year plans for mission and ministry that were relevant to the 21st century. The St Jude's re-ordering is one of 277 such Kairos plans detailed by churches around south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.