MEMBERS of a church near Taunton town centre want to build an extension to cater for its "expanding pastoral activities".

A planning application has been submitted to Somerset West and Taunton Council for a two-storey extension to the side of the Seventh Day Adventist Church premises in Mary Street.

The church claims to support the local community with areas of expertise with the young, the elderly and the vulnerable.

Robis da Silva, minister of religion for Taunton, Chard and Highbridge, said it is "an activities church".

He added: "In the past years, we have been involved in some actions in the community like nursing home visitation, children and youths clubs etc.

"We plan to extend our building to accommodate our members and open the centre of excellence to offer free health and other courses to the community.

"However, we do not want to operate in an overcrowded environment.

"This is why we would like to extend our building."