It was 20 years ago this month that the once spectacular Georgian Dockyard Church at Sheerness was destroyed by fire.

The inferno tore through the derelict building on May 30, 2001, and reduced the once proud premises to rubble. Everyone believed it was the end and the remains would have to be bulldozed.

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But no one expected the arrival of Will Palin, life-long conservationist and son of former Monty Python and TV favourite Michael.

He said: "It's certainly been a journey. I've been working on it for almost a decade."

His first introduction to Sheppey was working on a project to renovate the Tudor Shurland Hall at Eastchurch.

"A few of us decided to explore the rest of the Island and found this extraordinary ruined building in Sheerness with a terrace of houses next to it," he recalled. "Then we began to understand these fragments were from a really important late-Georgian dockyard.

"I fell in love with the place and the building and a group of us turned our attention to trying to get these buildings back on their feet. The church, of course, was the hardest one to do as it had been burnt out. But we had a vision and the National Lottery players are helping to turn it into a reality. I'm incredibly grateful to them."

KMTV report by Phil Wellbrook

The Grade II listed church, built in 1828, is now rising phoenix-like from the ruins in an £8.5m project to create a state-of-the art community centre, exhibition space and hub for Sheppey's young entrepreneurs. It is surrounded by three miles of impenetrable scaffolding but on Thursday the media was allowed in to see what construction firm Coniston has been doing.

The four clock faces on the tower have been removed and sent for restoration, 55,000 bricks were laid in six weeks to create a new parapet, crumbling masonry has been pulled down and where it can't be repaired new pieces are being built using old skills.

A new concrete floor compliments original cast-iron support pillars. There is still no roof but bosses are confident the site will be safe to open to visitors for a heritage open day in September.

Externally, the church is being restored to match original architect Ledwell Taylor's design with the same roof, windows and doors. The inside is being stabilised to make way for a cafe, meeting spaces, gallery and business "incubation units". There will also be space to exhibit part of the remarkable scale model of the dockyard made in the 1820s.

Half the cost, £4.2m, has come from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Heritage Fund director Stuart McLeod said: "We have been in dialogue with Will for a long time but this application was something which really excited us on a number of levels.

"We had what might be deemed a difficult historic building in a state of disrepair but with a vision to turn it into something of real value to the area. We understand the challenges of Sheerness and the Island and the opportunity this project is providing to support young people to get into work and bring inward investment to the area.

"The transformation will bring a sense of aspiration. As a package it was a very attractive application. The end use is wholly appropriate." He added: "We were also aware we had not given much funding to the Island. We have a commitment to see our funds are spread across the UK."

The scheme is one of the biggest heritage projects in the south east.

Among some of the young people already taking advantage of the scheme is 21-year-old Tommy Stower from Sheerness who has been employed as an apprentice chippy by construction firm Coniston. He even has his photo on one of the hoardings in front of the building.

The former Oasis Academy pupil and Sheppey College carpentry student said: "This is a fantastic opportunity. There isn't a lot of work on Sheppey. This is only my second job on the Island in eight years. I've had to work on the mainland the rest of the time."

For a chap who only has a 50cc moped to get around that has meant some serious commuting.

He added: "This was the last job I applied for one day and the first one to come back. I'm so glad they did. I'd been knocked back so many times. But my dad is over the moon about it."

It is hoped to reopen the building to the public next year. Work is currently on target. There are about 30 workers on site at the moment and that is likely to grow to 50 or 70.

Coniston's contracts manager Andy Wood from Sittingbourne said: "We've never lost a day because of the pandemic. We have strict codes of practice, staggered lunch breaks so not everyone eats at the same time and, of course, there's no roof so it's all outdoors.

"The only problem has been the wind which comes off the sea. We've had to anchor the scaffolding with huge water tanks. And the scorpions which live in the brickwork. They only give a little bit but they come as a surprise to some of our staff so we've had to add them to our induction."

To learn more about the church and its history there is a free 30-minute Zoom talk called Rising from the Ashes followed by a question and answer session to mark the anniversary of the fire.

It is on Thursday, May 29 at 6pm and will be hosted by Will Palin and architects Hugh Broughton and Martin Ashley as part of the Estuary Arts Festival.

The team has also worked on the restoration of the award-winning Painted Hall at Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the Halley VI Antarctic Research Station as well as conservation projects at Hampton Court and Windsor Castle.

To book a place for the talk, visit https://tinyurl.com/Ashestalk

Read more: All the latest news from Sheppey