Council hears site of historic Cornish church should not be used for housing
St Paul’s Church in Truro is to be demolished 180 years after it was built
The site of a historic Cornish church, which is to be demolished 180 years after it was built, should not be used to provide housing, a council meeting has heard.
Former Mayor of Truro Cllr Bert Biscoe told fellow city councillors that he believed the land on which doomed St Paul’s Church stands should instead provide a community hub for residents in the area.
Cllr Biscoe also told a meeting of Truro City Council on Monday (September 29) that a question mark hangs over how much expert opinion was sought by Church Commissioners when coming to the decision that the disused church on Agar Road in the city should be knocked down.
The decision that the church, which closed in 2007, will definitely be demolished was revealed in a report by Church Commissioners for the Diocese of Truro earlier this month. “It does not appear to the commissioners, after consultation with the Church Buildings Council, that the building is of such historic and archaeological interest or architectural quality that it ought to be preserved in the interests of the nation and the Church of England,” stated the report.
Cllr Biscoe told fellow councillors on Monday that 11 people had conducted the inquiry into the building’s future including High Court judges and bishops, who came to the conclusion that it would have to be demolished. “I think that given the structural condition of the tower and everything else, there’s no point in challenging that. It’s going to come down,” he said.
“I think the real question is about the future of the site. Firstly, it was a charitable gift and in my view should stay in the public domain. Secondly, there are two views – one is that the site could be used in order to provide an alternative pastoral community focus for that very large community of residential neighbourhoods clustered around the church.
“The second option is to use it for housing. In my view, you can find pieces of land to put housing on, but you won’t find a charitably gifted piece of land to put a community facility in a place densely populated and ill-provided for very easily. Therefore, it seems to me there’s a discussion to be had – for the Church to come to a city council meeting to discuss the community’s view of what the site should be used for.”
He asked for the council to agree to write to the Church Commissioners and to the Bishop of Truro to suggest an exploratory meeting to discuss the process of finding an appropriate future for the site. Truro mayor Cllr Chris Wells agreed to follow up the suggestion with town clerk David Rodda.
Cllr Biscoe added: “The one thing of some interest, which is of no consequence now, is that the conservation builder was insistent that the damage to the stone was not the worst he’d ever seen and was not beyond salvation, but it’s too late to labour that point now. It does raise the question of how much actual expert opinion was sought.”
The tower and east end of the church, which was originally built in 1845, were built from polyphant stone which weathers badly and has a life of only around 100 years when used externally. The east end was added in 1884 and the tower was completed in 1910.