The ruins of a church at the centre of a Cambridgeshire village could be turned into a new home in order to preserve what is left of the building.

The Diocese of Ely has put forward plans to convert the ruins of the All Saints Church in Denton Road, Denton into a two-bedroom house.

The Diocese said turning the ruins into a house will ensure what is left of the church is preserved for future generations.

It added that if nothing is done then the ruins will become even more unstable.

In planning documents submitted to Huntingdonshire District Council, the Diocese of Ely explained that the church fell out of regular use in the 1950s.

It explained that the building became a ruin in the 1960s after the roof was taken off to try and make the church safe.

The Diocese of Ely said occasional acts of worship have continued to take place within the churchyard for events such as Easter, Harvest and Christmas.

However, the Diocese said the church ruin is becoming more unstable and has now been fenced off from public access.

The Diocese has said the church will continue to decline without a new sustainable use for the ruin to provide funding for on-doing maintenance.

This is why the Diocese of Ely said it has proposed to convert the ruins into a two-bedroom house.

The planning application suggested the new house could be suited for a first-time buyer, or for someone who has retired and is looking to downsize.

The Diocese said these two housing markets were “inadequately catered for” in the village and the wider area.

It added that turning the church ruin into a house will “preserve the existing ruin” and “ensure that what is left of the fabric of the old church is retained for future generations”.

The plans said: “The major public benefit provided by the ruin will increasingly reduce as the structure becomes increasingly unstable and reduces in scope.

“The proposed scheme to convert the ruin into a single dwelling ensures that what is left of the ruin will be maintained and public access via a defined route for both the local villagers and the outside public will also be maintained.

“In this way in the medium term a major public benefit will exist which would be lost if the ruin is allowed to follow its current trajectory of decline.”

The Diocese of Ely said it has made it clear to people living in the village that if the conversion is allowed to go ahead, they will be able to access a designated area of the churchyard grounds, which will include the gravestones that are still visited.