A project to extend a Hampshire church has been axed.

The proposals for St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Romsey have now been scrapped.

Portsmouth diocesan trustees pulled the plug on expanding the church on the former La Sagesse Convent at Abbey Water, owned by the Daughters of Wisdom, due to rising costs.

Church officials are now desperately trying to find an alternative site to build a new place of worship for the growing congregation.

Acknowledging that the news will come as a “heavy blow” to many in Romsey, the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Philip Egan, said that the proposed extension at St Joseph’s was likely to cost more than £4m.

“The trustees believe that this cost is simply too high,” said Bishop Philip.

He added: “Over the last 12 years we have built six churches across the diocese and this would have been, by some way, the most expensive, not only in total but relative to the facilities being gained and the accommodation provided.”

Bishop Philip says that he and the trustees have a responsibility as a registered charity, and under Canon Law, to spend funds “diligently”, and against such a test this cannot be justified on the plans to expand St Joseph’s.

Explaining why it has taken so long to make the decision not to go ahead with the build-on, Bishop Philip said that it was “impossible to obtain an accurate estimate of the cost of the proposals” until detailed designs were completed, along with agreements with the Daughters of Wisdom.

Borough planners approved the scheme – which includes knocking down the western boundary wall of St Joseph’s Church and building further out – in February 2013.

Had the scheme proceeded, new toilets and meeting/seminar rooms would have been installed, along with reconfiguring other sections of the church.

Sister Jean Quinn, provisional leader of the Daughters of Wisdom, said that the organisation was “sad” to learn from Bishop Philip that the proposed extension would not be going ahead.

“The Daughters of Wisdom share the disappointment of the people of the parish that their desire to have updated the church where they worshipped together for years has proved to be too costly for the Diocese of Portsmouth to update this church to serve the needs of the modern Catholic and other faith communities in Romsey,” said Sister Quinn, pointing out that the Daughters of Wisdom had welcomed people of the parish to St Joseph’s for many years.