£2.5m project to see West End church given an overhaul

The Church of St John the Evangelist is one of the West End's most visible landmarks, sitting at the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, and dates back to the 1840s.

It has remained largely unchanged since the construction of its church hall in 1916, but plans have now been lodged for a 2.5 million revamp.

The boldest part of the refurbishment is a planned new glass and stone extension to the original hall, which will dramatically alter its appearance from the Princes Street Gardens end.

The extension is designed to create a more flexible hall, performance and exhibition space with seating for up to 100 people.

Internal alteration plans also include new office space, meeting rooms, and expanded retail and cafe space.

St John's Church executive manager Graeme Glover said: "We've been looking at this for a number of years now as there are a few things that need replaced or improved, including toilet facilities and office facilities.

"We need to make the church fit for the next 50 years so we can keep doing what we do with the church, the shops and the regular events, and do it better.

"We want to continue to be a church that people are proud of in the West End and throughout the city. The plans we have are quite exciting and it will be spectacular if we can put them into place.

"The church has been continually evolving since it was built in the early 19th century. The church hall was built the following century and now that we're into the 21st century we're moving on to the next stage of its evolution.

"We estimate that the whole project will cost somewhere in the region of 2.5m, and once we've finalised the plans the next big challenge will be fundraising.

"St John's will put up a significant amount of the funding, and we will then look at how we will raise the remainder.

"But first of all we need to find a design that we like, and that the people of Edinburgh like," he added.

LDN architects were appointed in 2005 to develop the plans, which are set to go before the council's planning committee towards the end of May.