The bells in Basildon's landmark glass belltower which rang out to welcome the new year, will not toll again until Easter.

More than £25,000 of essential landscaping work still needs to be completed before the St Martin's church bells can be sounded on a regular basis.

The landscaping work is aimed at improving the area around the world's first glass belltower and ensuring there are no drainage problems.

This last stage of the £600,000 project is expected to take about eight weeks to complete.

The tower was officially opened by the Queen in March and bellringers countrywide are eager to ring its bells - three of which date back to the early 15th century.

The bells did ring out to welcome in the new millennium, but many were surprised no advance publicity was given. Up to New Year's Eve the Echo could not get it confirmed whether the ringing would go ahead and in the event it was a low-key affair.

But Canon Lionel Webber said he was not disappointed, despite hopes the tower would be a focus for Basildon's millennium celebrations.

He said: "I had hoped it would all be finished before the end of the year but it's been a hell of a project to get off the ground.

"The floodlighting is all there and we're just waiting for the landscaping to be finished before it can be commissioned."

Crowds gathered outside the church and cars stopped when the bells rang to sound the beginning of the new millennium. When they rang again at noon on New Year's Day many shoppers in the town centre walked over to see them in action.

Mr Webber, said: "When the bells rang for the millennium, it was very special. It sufficient encouragement to finish the project."

A spokesman for the Millennium Commission which donated £300,000 of National Lottery cash for the project said it was not a requirement that the tower be finished in time for the new year celebrations.

He said: "It's much more important to us that the projects are viable, well managed and made to last rather than thrown together."

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