A PREVIEW into an £80,000 development to transform a medieval church into an exhibition and resource centre will be on offer tomorrow.Suffolk author, Ronald Blythe, will be the guest at the event on Saturday at the new St Nicholas Centre, in Franciscan Way, Ipswich.

A PREVIEW into an £80,000 development to transform a medieval church into an exhibition and resource centre will be on offer tomorrow.

Suffolk author, Ronald Blythe, will be the guest at the event on Saturday at the new St Nicholas Centre, in Franciscan Way, Ipswich.

The development, which brings together the church and the offices of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, will be officially opened next Monday .

Mr Blythe, who wrote Akenfeld, a classic novel about Suffolk village life, will appear this weekend at the Revelations bookshop and the Suffolk Christian Resource Library within the development.

He will meet guests and sign copies of his latest novel The View in Winter.

He said: "It means a lot to me that centres like this are created.

"It is a perfect way to use church buildings that are no longer used for worship and as a writer I think it is marvellous to include a bookshop and library.

"Every big town or city should have a centre like this."

The conversion of the church has created a unique location for conferences, meetings, staff training, corporate and private entertainment.

A varied programme of events has already been planned including a lively

contribution to the Ip-Art Festival in June and July.

Shirley Nicholls, manager of the bookshop and library, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to improve our service to the community.

"The St Nicholas Centre provides a unique environment in which to offer our resources in a revitalised and growing part of Ipswich."

The event will take place between 10am-3pm with Mr Blythe appearing at 1pm.