Exeter’s largest church, which says its current city centre base is ‘bursting at the seams’, has been denied permission to move to a bigger new home.
The city council says the new location at Marsh Barton chosen by Rediscover Church should still be protected as employment land, and the church can’t have it. Now angry church leaders are planning to appeal.
Lead pastor Mark Pugh said: “That’s not protection, that’s stagnation. Exeter deserves better than empty buildings and missed opportunities.“
Rediscover Church – slogan ‘Live, Love, Thrive’ – currently hosts its events at the Providence Chapel in Northernhay Street, and says its congregation of 500 people has outgrown the cramped chapel. It has been searching for a permanent home for eight years.
Through the Elim Trust Corporation, the church applied to convert the Stanley Security unit at Signal House on the Marsh Barton industrial estate into a place of worship complete with a cafe and a soft play area.
It said its proposal would have brought the building into active daily use as a community hub serving both the church and the wider community. The current occupier is seeking to relocate, and despite 12 months of active marketing, no industrial replacement has come forward.
More than 40 full-time equivalent jobs would have been created from the outset, according to the church.
Mark Pugh, the General Superintendent of Elim and Lead Pastor of Rediscover Church, said: “A building that could serve thousands of people has been prioritised for a use that hasn’t materialised in over a year.
“This decision doesn’t just affect us. It affects the building owner, the current occupiers who are trying to relocate, the future of our existing site, and ultimately the wider community that loses something that could have made a real difference.”
Mr Pugh said the appeal would give a chance for a ‘fair and realistic hearing’.
“Exeter deserves better than empty buildings and missed opportunities,” he said. “We fully recognise the importance of protecting employment space in Marsh Barton, but this building attracted no viable interest in 12 months of active marketing.
“If no alternative use is permitted, the realistic prospect is that this building stands empty. It would serve neither the employment agenda the council seeks to protect, nor the community that could benefit from our proposal.
“This is about what kind of city we’re becoming – a city that holds tightly to outdated categories, or a city that adapts, innovates and makes the most of what it has.”
The city council’s notification of refusal said it had worked ‘in a positive and pro-active way’ with the church and had looked for solutions to enable the grant of planning permission.
But, it said: “The proposal remains contrary to the planning policies set out in the reasons for refusal and was not therefore considered to be sustainable development.”
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