Residents in Prickwillow have been given six months to come up with a viable plan to keep a disused church in use by the community.

In June, the Diocese of Ely applied for permission to convert St Peter’s Church, in Main Street, into a family home.

According to the diocese, St Peter’s was built in the 1860s and remained in use until 2012, when a dwindling congregation meant it had to be closed.

But residents of the village were unhappy with the plans and appealed to the diocese to give them time to come up with an alternative plan, to keep the building in use in the village – which already has a public hall.

Ideas already mooted have included a community shop or café and it is now planned to leaflet houses in the village to see if enough support can be garnered The diocese has now agreed to give villagers until January 2015 to come up with a plan before it will press ahead with plans to convert the building into a home.

A spokesman for the diocese said: “The diocese felt that the proposals were worthwhile and agreed with them a period of six months for them to put together a comprehensive business plan.”