FORMER mayor James Toogood has resigned as chairman of the Malmesbury Abbey Restoration Group, saying hostile forces made him abandon the leadership of the £3million project.

The ex-town councillor had been involved with plans to extend the 1,000-year-old building since the project began in 1997.

He described it as a bitter blow to have to leave.

He said: "We have received a good deal of welcome publicity during the first six years of this £3million appeal. During the last six months however there has been little progress.

"Owing to forces beyond my control I felt it necessary to resign from the project team and the chairmanship. To have been forced by hostile forces to abandon the leadership of the scheme was a bitter blow."

Mr Toogood blamed the Parochial Church Council, the parish governing body that set up the restoration group, for his resignation.

He said his project team had worked hard to bring the scheme to an advanced stage of planning and had received encouragement from English Heritage.

This work culminated in BBC reporter Kate Adie's decision to become a vice patron of the abbey last July, which gave a high profile boost to the £3million appeal fund, he said.

Yet although the project was appearing to gather steam all was not well behind the scenes.

Mr Toogood said: "We heard on the grapevine the church council were not keen on the scheme. We had reported to them 19 times yet we were getting an undertone of comments, that perhaps all was not well.

"We had spent £100,000 getting the design team together and we felt we have got to find out where the noises were coming from. So we set a date for the church council to meet our project team at the beginning of December to get a fresh mandate for the scheme.

"There would be a secret ballot whether to abandon it or go forward. The results of the ballot were four to one in favour of going ahead with it."

Cracks appeared again when Mr Toogood said the church council produced a paper further undermining the restoration group.

He said: "I could see there were many people who were putting money up and getting frustrated with the project getting stalled.

"The paper produced by the church council was untrusting and mealy-mouthed. I felt I must resign because we were up against a lack of support from the council which was our sponsoring body.

"I think the scheme will tread water. It is stalled. They have got to find a new driving force. I think the project team feel sad and are not sure what is going on."

Mr Toogood added that townspeople were astounded and upset by his resignation.

Malmesbury Abbey vicar, the Rev Neil Archer, dismissed any suggestions of a crisis.

Speaking on Monday he said: "As a priest I cannot talk about someone's decision. But the project carries on. The project team met today and looked at designs and fundraising through grant applications for the abbey. People can expect the £3million project to continue."

David Barton, new acting chairman of the abbey restoration scheme, would not comment on Mr Toogood's resignation, but said the project team appreciated his work.

He said: "We very much appreciate his work and the scheme will now go forward."

A week following Mr Toogood's decision to quit, the clerk to the restoration group, Bill Wilson, also resigned.

Yesterday Mr Wilson refused to comment on his decision, saying it was a personal issue but that he was fully behind the scheme.

The plans for the extension the first at the abbey since the 16th century include seating for 80 people, a large office area, office space for clergy and a bookshop and kitchen on the ground floor with disabled access.

There were 63,000 visitors to the abbey last year and the restoration group wants to attract even more and harness the abbey's potential as an educational and tourist resource.

A firm of architects, led by Ptolemy Dean who is known for his work on Southwark Cathedral, has been appointed to oversee the extension.

Mr Toogood's high profile resignation comes after Malmesbury Abbey verger Bill Blake quit his post in January 2004.

Mr Blake claimed he had been gagged because he spoke out over a sermon from Rev Peter Yacomeni, which urged pensioners to spend less on luxuries and contribute to church funds.

Mr Blake said the sermon had been a verbal assault on the congregation.