Moves to list a south Belfast church made just weeks after a redevelopment plan for the building was filed threatens the existence of the site and the congregation, its minister has said.
All Saints’ Church of Ireland in the Holylands, catering predominantly to students and young adults, filed the plans late last year to develop community and worship space along with 49 affordable apartments.
But then in February, Reverend Trevor Johnston was told of the plan to list the building, which was completed in 1898. The listing proposal has moved to the point where it was an agenda item at the last Belfast City Council Planning Committee meeting.
Quantity surveyors employed by the church have calculated the cost of bringing the building up to the standard needed to continue operating as it is now will be up to £3.5m, Rev Johnston said.
Three roof slates on the building at the corner of Canterbury and University streets had to be replaced recently, at a cost of £6,000. The total cost of replacing the roof alone will be £800,000, he added.
“Listing the building places entirely unrealistic financial expectations on our church and is serious threat to our very existence.”
The Department for Communities (DfC), which has final say on the listing of buildings, has been contacted for comment.
The church was last approached by officials from the DfC’s Historic Environment Division (HED) nearly eight years ago, but nothing was heard from them since, Rev Johnston said.
“We decided to go ahead with the redevelopment of the building,” the minister said, adding that the idea was to continue and grow what is currently “a vibrant young church”.
Working with consultants and architects, plans were drawn up to build out the worship and community space in the lower part of the structure and apartments above. The front façade would be retained.
The church also commissioned an outside expert from London who concluded there was no merit in listing the building.
Following the notice from the HED, meetings were held with Diocese of Connor officials and Rev Johnston, who urged a rethink and a halt to the listing process.
But on May 14, the listing was on the planning committee agenda as councillors were briefed the building was of “local interest and social and cultural importance”
At a later meeting of the full council, Sinn Féin councillor Matt Garrett, chair of the planning committee, said: “I don’t know if any other members have received emails, but certainly the director for the church’s lobby is calling into question the listing. They have, it seems, an ongoing application going through the planning system as well.
“I think for us it is to note there is a consultation process from the Department for Communities that moves the list. It would also be worth us noting at least in our response to the Historic Environment Division at the Department for Communities that they have been in touch with the council to raise questions about the listing.”
Rev Johnston said: “Our pleas for common sense fell on deaf ears. In a very real sense, our buildings are no longer our property, and this is a form of land grab by the state, possibly impinging our religious freedoms.”
During meetings, HED officials “suggested we diversify use: a pub or restaurant or a coffee shop”, Rev Johnston said.
“In the present financial climate, suggestions like these sound like ‘cloud cuckoo land’, with respect. The air of unreality is quite remarkable.”
