THOUSANDS of residents may have to wait years for a permanent place of worship and a community centre to be built.

Witham’s Maltings Lane estate has been dealt a blow after the Bethel Christian Fellowship pulled out of plans to provide the facilities.

Braintree Council chose the fellowship two years ago to be part of a development project on the 1,100-home estate.

Alan Battley, a member of the fellowship’s buildings team, said: “Regretfully, we cannot provide what we need on the place of worship site offered.

“The provision of assured car parking spaces has always been an issue, which has never been satisfactorily resolved.”

The church site would have been given to the fellowship as a freehold and they would have had a long lease on the community centre location.

The fellowship wrote to the council outlining its reasons for pulling out, stating financial concerns and diminished enthusiasm.

Mr Battley said: “The building we own in Church Street, Witham, has dropped substantially in value at the present time.”

The fellowship will continue to meet at the Maltings Academy and look for a permanent home.

Andrew Epsom, Braintree Council’s head of asset management, said: “I think the Bethel Christian Fellowship had very grand plans, but not necessarily the finance.

“It could be a number of years before the place of worship and community centre are up and running.”