THE new tower has been built, the glass enclosed gallery is almost complete and the base of the fountain in the midst of the Cloister Garth which is the centrepiece of Blackburn BCathedral's new clergy court has been installed.

As the priest in charge of the building project Canon Andrew Hindley surveys the progress on the first such project at a major Anglican church complex for almost 600 years, he is a very satisfied man.

The scheme might be £2million over the initial budget estimate and running five months late but what the 56-year-old describes as 'my life's work' is taking its final shape before his eyes.

It will complement the wider £34million Cathedral Quarter development with Premier Inn Hotel, a six-storey office block, public squares and gardens next to the main heritage-listed church buildings.

First imagined by Canon Hindley and his Cathedral colleagues in 1998 it will have risen to its complete form ready for opening by Easter 2016.

The new square around which nine clergy houses are close to completion has been named Deans Yard.

The atmospheric glass 'cloister' corridor roofed with wooden beamwork christened 'The Temple Galley' after William Bishop of Manchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury, who turned Blackburn's 1,000-year-old Parish Church into a Cathedral in 1926.

There will be a decorative metalwork gazebo to complete the medieval cloister atmosphere with central raised lawn and re-sited 'Ledger Stones' from graves in the grounds surrounding it.

The new accommodation suite for six choristers, including a fully disabled-friendly flat, will be the only one of its kind in the country.

Canon Hindley revealed the original £6.1million construction estimate had risen to £8million with professional fees and £400,000 overspend on materials.

The completion date had also slipped back by five months.

Canon Hindley said: "This is the most challenging but satisfying project I have ever worked on.

"In a sense it is my life's work.

"I started on it in 1998 and when it is complete it will taken almost 20 years.

"We have had technical challenges, problems with the weather and material supply but we could not afford to skimp.

"When this is finished it will not only be a magnificent part of our Cathedral, it will be a place of reflection and tranquillity for the people of the town.

"It will ensure the Cathedral remains the heartbeat of Blackburn which is what it should be."

Dean Christopher Armstrong added: "I am tingling with excitement as this project approaches completion."