Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2013 14:48:37 GMT
Oh dear. I've been expecting this for about ten years. There is a plan to build on the site of St. Aldate's church hall, vicarage and garden, all on the corner of Finlay Road and Reservoir Road. They can't demolish the church itself because it is a listed building (for architectural reasons), but the diocese has been itching to turn the rest of the site into a housing estate for years.
When the Rev. Kingsley Jones became vicar there in 2001, the first thing that he did was to close down the popular environmental centre on the grounds that it cost too much. Then he was caught trying to get a tree surgeon to fell a load of the protected trees in the large vicarage garden; swift action by neighbours and Justin Hobbs put a stop to that.
It was obvious that Rev. Jones had the approval of the diocese in his support for closing the church hall a few years ago. Basically, the whole site, minus the church itself, has been nicely prepared for redevelopment. Now Rooftop has stepped in.
There are going to be two consultation meetings - one for the use of the church and one for the redevelopment of the rest of the site. The church meeting will be at 7.30pm on Tuesday, and the redevelopment meeting will be from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday. Both will take place in the church.
All of the Labour councillors will be totally in support of the redevelopment, just as they were over the motorway services. There will be section 106 money, and they won't see past the initial boost to the economy.
When the Rev. Kingsley Jones became vicar there in 2001, the first thing that he did was to close down the popular environmental centre on the grounds that it cost too much. Then he was caught trying to get a tree surgeon to fell a load of the protected trees in the large vicarage garden; swift action by neighbours and Justin Hobbs put a stop to that.
It was obvious that Rev. Jones had the approval of the diocese in his support for closing the church hall a few years ago. Basically, the whole site, minus the church itself, has been nicely prepared for redevelopment. Now Rooftop has stepped in.
There are going to be two consultation meetings - one for the use of the church and one for the redevelopment of the rest of the site. The church meeting will be at 7.30pm on Tuesday, and the redevelopment meeting will be from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday. Both will take place in the church.
All of the Labour councillors will be totally in support of the redevelopment, just as they were over the motorway services. There will be section 106 money, and they won't see past the initial boost to the economy.
