St John the Divine Victorian church spire saved

St John the Divine spire saved by campaigners

Dec 11 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

St John the Divine in Fairfield

CAMPAIGNERS last night claimed a victory for people power after it was announced a threatened Victorian church spire in Fairfield, Liverpool, has been saved from demolition.

The church council of St John the Divine has agreed a deal which has rescued the spire of the church.

They agreed to sell the building to developers Huyton-based DDL90 at a much reduced cost, in return for an agreement that the spire will remain intact. It followed a concerted effort from local heritage campaigners, councillors, and the charity Save Britain’s Heritage, whose expert stonemasons proved the building had a financially viable future.

Last night, Jonathan Brown, of Merseyside Civic Society, said: “We regret the diocese had to be shamed by public outrage into doing the right thing, but congratulate them for eventually seeing the light. We are also very grateful to the Daily Post for its coverage of the story.”

Liverpool Diocese decided in June that the spire had to be knocked down because the structure might collapse and costs of repair were prohibitive.

The church won a special court case to allow it to demolish the spire in September, but only yesterday announced the deal to save it.

Last night, the city’s historic environment champion Cllr Berni Turner; Cllr Colin Eldridge, who campaigned to save the spire, and Fairfield’s Cllr Louise Baldock said they were delighted by the decision.

And the Venerable Ricky Panter, Archdeacon of Liverpool, said the case showed the dilemma facing many of the diocese’s churches. “On this occasion, the church council were able to agree a rescue package, but this isn’t always the case and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made”.

St John the Divine Victorian church spire saved

A THREATENED Victorian church spire has been saved from demolition following a last minute deal.

The church council of St John the Divine has agreed a deal which has rescued of the spire of church in Fairfield, Liverpool.

They agreed to sell the building to developers Huyton-based DDL90 at a much reduced cost in return for an agreement that the spire will remain intact.

The church council had been awarded a court judgement giving them permission to demolish the spire on health and safety grounds.

As the building does not meet listing requirements, the church was unable to get money from English Heritage.

The Venerable Ricky Panter, Archdeacon of Liverpool said: "While it is tremendous to have been able to have preserved the spire at St John’s this case shows the dilemma facing many of our churches.

"Very often they are caught between the heritage lobby calling for buildings to be preserved and the financial reality that there is no money to pay for the work to be done.

"On this occasion the church council were able to agree a rescue package however this is not always the case and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made".

"The Diocese of Liverpool is very conscious of the many fine church buildings that exist in the Diocese and works hard to help local vicars and congregations preserve these buildings."

"It would have been easy for them to demolish the church and sell the land, once they found out that the spire was unsafe and beyond their means to repair.

"We particularly owe a debt of thanks to Reverend Andrew Porter and his congregation at St John the Divine for finding the money to save the church and spire for posterity by reducing the sale price accordingly.

"It is a great day for Fairfield's heritage and a great way to end the 08 Culture year in our neighbourhood".

Daily Post 10/12/08