News

LET'S PUT THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Dear Ed,

St Peter’s Church, Swingfield

I read with interest the article and letter o­n this subject which appeared recently in the Folkestone Herald.  A statement from the Chairman and Committee of the Friends of St Peter’s Church Swingfield was printed in the latest issue of The Roundel, our local community magazine. Collectively, these documents contain incorrect and misleading information.

The renewed publicity to this matter appears to have been generated by the issue of a further Draft Redundancy Scheme by the Redundant Churches Division of the Church Commissioners.

I am sure everyone will agree that, if people are to decide whether to support the Friends’ campaign or support the proposals of the Redundant Churches Committee to covert the Church into a private residence, then all the true facts should be published, not just the views of o­ne side.

The majority of what I write is fact, which can be verified; I o­nly make a few personal observations and do not in any way wish to open up all the old arguments which had been extensively rehearsed.

Let me first of all deal with the statement of the Friends and the letter writer in your newspaper about a  “125 year lease to a developer”.  It is quite clear that the authors of these statements have not read the Draft Scheme because, had they done so, they would have found a clear mention of proposals from “a private individual for use as a single dwelling” and “a group of local people for use as a visitor centre and Museum”.  

The Friends have put in a lot of hard work but the Church Commissioners have rejected all their proposals and reiterated their opinion that the o­nly realistic and financial viable way of preserving this ancient building is conversion to a private dwelling.  We have a good example of such a conversion at Old Hawkinge; conversion of redundant churches into private dwellings is quite common.

The Herald correspondent refers to “the silence from…..and others o­n this issue is simply deafening..”  As soon as the Parish Council became aware of the further Draft Scheme, it submitted its opposition in writing to the new draft scheme in line with current Council policy. The Chairman of the Parish Council also entered into immediate discussions with representatives of the Redundant Churches Committee, the Local Planning Authority and the Parochial Church Council.  As a result, the Chairman will be attending a meeting of the Redundant Churches Committee in London in October to explain the Parish Council’s position.

The Parish Council has always recognised that the best way of preserving the existing building is to find a suitable alternative use for it, and since none was forthcoming during the extensive “use seeking” exercise that followed the declaration of redundancy, other than for residential use, it knew that this was the best possible way of conserving the character, appearance, fabric integrity and setting of this listed building.

Conditional upon this support were the conditions under a S106 Planning agreement which the Parish Council had requested and which had the full support of Shepway District Council`s Planning Department.

These conditions were designed to protect as far as possible the current uses of the churchyard and to restrict permitted development rights in order to maintain the character of the church and its environs. This was also necessary to allay the fears of residents.  Indeed, I believe the original lease made provision for visitors to view the inside of this building; notwithstanding that it would be a private residence, subject to certain conditions.

The Parish Council opposes any proposal to allow vehicles to pass over the path leading to and through the Lychgate.  Quite simply, the Parish Council owns the section of path outside the Church boundary and it will not give consent for vehicular use.  Equally, the Parish Council vigorously opposes any proposal to annex off part of the northwest churchyard for amenity use in connection with a residential use of the church.  The Parish Council has been far from silent.

I cannot accept that the Church Authorities are to blame for the length of time this redundant church has stood empty.  It is a well known fact that a certain element of the local community acted in such a manner that the couple originally selected to convert the church into a private dwelling reluctantly decided to “give up” because of the open hostility towards them.  Had they been allowed to carry out their imaginative and sensitive scheme, it is likely that the conversion would by now have been completed and the preservation of the building assured.

When I was Chairman of the Parish Council, o­ne of my duties was to attend the annual Remembrance Day Service at the Lychgate.  There are a number of people who have proclaimed themselves as being “Friends of the Church” and I therefore find it very sad that, o­n those occasions when our French counterparts did not attend the services, the o­nly people present at those services were the Clergyman, my wife and myself.  This is a rare opportunity for people to express their support for the church and I find it amazing that no o­ne ever bothers to attend.

Members of the Parish Council were subjected to personal insults and allegations when the original application for planning permission was being considered. The planning issue was extensively debated and the decision of the Planning Inspector appointed by the Government to grant planning permission for a residential use, subject to the strict condition put forward by the Parish Council, completely vindicates the Parish Council.

I do not doubt for o­ne moment the sincerity of the Friends and they have every right to voice their opinions but the reality is that there is a valid planning permission in existence for residential use and all other proposed uses have been dismissed.

People are being urged to make their objections known so as to thwart a residential use.  If this campaign is successful and the church remains closed with no other financially viable use being found, then those people must be prepared to shoulder  some of the blame if the fabric of the church deteriorates further.

Roger Curd

Swingfield Parish Council