CONCERNED voices and impassioned pleas filled the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Swanmore, during a public meeting into the church's potential closure last night (Wednesday).

The church was full to capacity with members of the community groups that use the church, including the Ella Sheppard School of Dance, which has almost 200 pupils, Wellytots play group, bellringers, a gaming club, memory sessions and other community groups.

Opening the meeting, Peter Sutton, Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight, told the packed church that nothing has been decided and the purpose of the meeting was as an informal consultation.

Deputy Diocesan secretary Jenny Hollingsworth outlined the church's position and answered questions.

She said that in 2013, the average attendance of weekly church services was 11.8, but by 2015, that number had dropped to just 4.5.

With this reduction in church goers, the church had been receiving less and less in donations and Mrs Hollingsworth said that very soon, the church would be unable to meet its day to day running costs, even with the rent money gathered from the various groups that use the building.

That was not the only problem, Mrs Hollingsworth said. There was also a lack of people to fill the vital roles needed to run the church.

A volunteer at Wellytots said during the meeting: "You do have a church family here, but maybe not in the traditional way."

Suggestions were made to launch a working party of key members of the church users to figure out a plan for managing the church and keeping it open.

Mrs Hollingsworth said: "If anyone comes forward with a well thought out plan with governance in place, we are not going to say no to that."

Asked whether any plans had been made to convert the site into housing, Mrs Hollingsworth said the church had commissioned an architect to look at what options were available for the site, but stressed that no decisions had been made.