CHURCH leaders have given a community group until the end of January to vacate St Martin's church hall after an unholy row broke out.
As reported, leaders of St Martin's demanded £140,000 of back-dated rental payments from Nunsthorpe Together, which currently uses the hall.
About 500 residents of the Nunsthorpe estate use the church hall each week for a host of activities, including bingo, dancing and games, all run by Nunsthorpe Together.
Despite its popularity, the clergy has set a deadline of January 28 for the site to be vacated.
Church leaders say they want to use the church hall for a new club offering "safe, high-quality Christian youth work".
In a statement, the Parochial Church Council of Grimsby said: "The PCC has been in legal negotiations for some time now with the board of Nunsthorpe Together to try to agree a formal lease, which would allow Nunsthorpe Together to continue to use St Martin's hall.
"These negotiations included addressing rental payments and the care of St Martin's Church and hall. As it became clear that Nunsthorpe Together was not able to meet the necessary provisions of a formal lease, the PCC is obliged to make other arrangements for the building.
"The parish is committed to providing safe, high-quality Christian youth work on our premises and in our buildings, and we are committed to engaging in constructive ways of serving the needs of the community and working with partners of good will who promote the welfare of our area."
Founder of Nunsthorpe Together, Steve Hill described the deadline for the club as "incredible".
He said the volunteers are continuing to negotiate with the church leaders in a bid to carry on with the project but he will no longer be involved and intends to leave the area.
Steve added: "I hope people realise that we have done amazing things with the money we had.
"When we received funding to set the project up back in 2007 we were grateful to the church because we understood the premises were being given freely for the benefit of young people.
"We truly believed it was a Christian thing to do. It had been empty for three years prior to that.
"Now there are more than 500 people using the church hall every week. It is giving kids something to do, taking them off the streets and giving them a chance to showcase their talents.
"It is safe and stops good kids turning into bad kids. I find it incredible the church wants to replace it.
"There isn't a project in North East Lincolnshire that has been as successful as The Funhouse."
As reported, the Respect Funhouse attracted more than £140,000 in funding when it was launched. A year after it started the then Bishop of Lincoln, Dr John Saxbee, visited the Respect Funhouse.
In a letter to organisers he said: "This is a truly remarkable venture and I cannot remember the last time I was so moved and encouraged in equal measure. It is clear many of the young people attending the project come from some of the more deprived backgrounds in the local community, yet they clearly value the project."
Bishop John, who was succeeded by the new Bishop of Lincoln, Richard Lowson, last year, added the volunteers were a credit to the group.
Mr Hill said he hopes the current Bishop of Lincoln will visit and follow in the footsteps of his predecessor.
