A Sheppey landmark is to be the subject of a prime time BBC One TV show.

Restoring England’s Heritage will be broadcast on Thursday, December 5, at 7.30pm and will feature the Sheerness Dockyard Church and the wider historic site.

Ownership of the Grade II* listed St Paul’s was transferred to The Spitalfields Trust in July.

A preservation trust of interested parties is in the process of being established to apply for grants.

On October 30, historian and presenter Tom Holland was at the site with a film crew to document the work that’s being done in the dockyard and find out about its history.

It is hoped the Georgian church will be converted into a community centre and small business units, at a cost in the region of £5m.

Will Palin, a Spitalfields trustee and resident of nearby Naval Terrace, said work has been progressing behind the scenes since September, when the weather vane at the top of the building was removed so it could be safely stored until the restoration is complete.

An application to the Heritage Lottery Fund was put in last week. If this is successful, it will be a £10,000 start-up grant so initial work can begin.

“Things are moving on but quite slowly,” Mr Palin said.

“But a lot has been going on behind the scenes – we have done a lot of tidying up inside the church and it’s gathering momentum.

“It was great to have the BBC down – Tom was really good and was just amazed to find these amazing buildings in this commercial port.

“It was really positive and is good for the Island. The programme will have a nice local flavour.”

He said English Heritage has been very supportive and it is hoped money from them will be forthcoming next year.

Swale council has also put in a bid for a ‘substantial’ cash injection through the Townscape Heritage Programme, which offers grants of between £100,000 to £2m.

It will be announced in January if it has been successful and if it has, the money will used to improve the town’s heritage, including the work on the church.

Tom Holland is a prolific tweeter and posted regular updates on the social networking site throughout his visit to Sheppey.

On one message, alongside a photo from inside the dining room of one of the Georgian terraced houses, he remarked: “Who would have thought Sheerness had such gems?”

Another described the restoration work which has been done in the naval officer’s house as ‘stunning’.

Talking about the project as a whole, Mr Holland said: “I found the whole site revelatory. Until I arrived there, I hadn’t imagined there was such a masterpiece of Georgian architecture in the Isle of Sheppey.

“Everyone knows about Spitalfields or Bath – but the complex in Sheerness is of a comparable fascination and beauty.

“What makes it particularly remarkable, of course, is the setting – the lorries rumbling past, the barriers and guards.

“It is one of the most fascinating spots I have come across in the whole of Britain.”