Plans to rip out Victorian pews from a 12th century church as part of a £940,000 building project have been opposed by national preservation chiefs, who have claimed it would be a ‘terrible waste’.
The Parochial Church Council of St Laurence’s Church in Church Stretton has submitted its plans for the Building in Faith project. It will include removing a Victorian pulpit, pews and the platforms they sit on to make way for under floor heating, as well as building a new entrance foyer complete with welcome area and disabled toilets.
Plans have been submitted to the Diocesan Advisory Committee, which advises on church buildings and their contents.
The PCC has already pledged a donation of £140,000 towards the project which has been struggling to get off the ground for the past 17 years.
The Victorian Society, which campaigns for the preservation of Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England, has already objected to the plans. English Heritage officials have also lodged an objection to the removal of the grade one listed church’s interior fittings on the grounds that it would ‘disrupt the high quality Victorian interior’.
All four parties and the architect are due to meet in January to discuss the plans and reach a solution.
David Garrard, historic churches advisor for the Victorian Society, said: “They (the pews) are of an intrinsic quality and there seems very little point in removing them. There’s not been any strong cause for its removal and it isn’t justified. It seems a terrible waste. ”
Rev Richard Hill, who moved to the parish in October from Swanland, near Hull, said the project was needed to fix plummeting temperatures which have fallen as low as 11 degrees celsius. He said: “We’re trying to look after the people and trying to give the building a long-term future.”