Councillor refutes suggestion more money would be wasted repairing ‘redundant’ chapel

The town council could face a £31,000 bill to repair the damaged spire - adding to the pressure on its finances.

However, councillor Alan Lockwood claimed at last week’s town council meeting that the chapel was redundant.

He said: “What are our obligations to repair it?

“We are talking about £30k of public money to repair a building that is redundant. It provides no real purpose.

“I know I am being the devil’s advocate but why are we paying for something we (the public) don’t use any more.”

Mayor Coun Fiona Martin countered by telling Coun Lockwood that the chapel was used - and was a Grade Two listed building.

Coun Lockwood replied: “Many councils in this country let listed buildings fall down.

“It (the repairs) is a large amount of money for something that is not used every day.

“Would it be better spending that money on something for the youngsters of our town, rather than a redundant building?

“If we do spend the money (on the spire), we need to make a robust case to the public.”

However, district councillor Sandra Campbell Wardman told Coun Lockwood that a lot of people had a strong attachment to the chapel, including her own family.

She said: “My grandson’s funeral was held there and it’s got very strong importance to a lot of people.

“Sometimes, people just want a quiet, private funeral.

“To say it’s redundant or not needed - it’s totally wrong.

“There are many people who have to bury someone, like we had to, and they just want somewhere quiet - not in a big church - where they can reflect on losing a child - or any other member of the family.

“To lose it would be a great shame.”

Coun Angela Birchall asked whether funding from outside bodies - including the Church of England - could be available for the repairs.

Town clerk Amanda Bushell said she had looked into that option but the chapel was not used enough to meet the funding criteria.

She said: “We have looked into grant funding - but it would need to be a wider project bringing more activities into a churchyard.

“Churches and chapels also need to have regular Sunday services. Although we hire it out, it’s not on a regular basis.”

Mrs Bushell went on to stress the repairs might not cost as much as £31K.

She said a structural engineer had examined the spire in 2018 and the council had obtained two quotes from specialist companies - one for £13K and the other for £31K.

She said that until the spire was taken down, it was not possible to say what the cost would be.

She added: “The council has been told numerous times that capital reserves will be needed to repair the spire.”

Coun Brian Burbidge warned councillors the longer the repair was left, the greater the cost might be.

Councillors were against setting aside £30,000 for the chapel spire repairs.

Instead, they agreed to earmark £5,000 for another inspection and a Grade Two licence that will enable the spire to be taken down and inspected.

Coun Matthew Wilkinson said: “It (the spire) is our responsibility. We’ve got to repair it.”

Clerk Amanda Bushell revealed the most expensive quote for an inspection was £3,000.

Coun Wilkinson said: “I propose allocating £5k on appointing an architect . We need to get three quotes and get on with this. We also need to highlight we might need 25k capital costs.”

Mayor Coun Fiona Martin said the inspection would provide a more accurate figure for the repairs.

Coun Dominic Hinkins said it was wrong to suggest young people did not care about historic buildings.

Replying to comments from Coun Alan Lockwood, he said: “Young people do care about the heritage of our town. I know I did.”