Cloudesley Association - Minutes of Meeting
Venue: Regents Pub
Date: 31 March 2015
1. Update on Holy Trinity Church, Cloudesley Square
Camilla Gersh, Church Buildings Support Officer for the Diocese of London, kindly came in to update us on the situation with the Holy Trinity Church.
Camilla explained that in 1981 the Diocese granted a lease to the Celestial Church as the Diocese had no need for the building at the time. There is currently six years left on that lease.
Extensive repairs are required to the fabric of the church - over £1,000,000 of work is needed.
In order to be eligible to obtain grant funding, there is a requirement for:
- a minimum term of ten years (post work completion) on the lease of the property; and
- the funding must result in a tangible/noticeable benefit to the community.
The Diocese now has a need for the building again and does not wish to extend the current remaining lease. The Church of England is currently negotiating with the Celestial Church to surrender their existing lease and for a new lease to be granted to the Church of England Barnsbury Team (The Church on the Corner and St Andrew’s on Thornhill Square), who would then be able to apply for funds to carry out the repairs.
Whilst the Church will primarily remain a place of worship (with possible shared use by the Church of England and the Celestial Church), the Diocese is looking at developing a broader community use for the Church. There are no real plans yet as to what this may entail but there are a number of churches in the area that are used for community purposes such as functions, children’s parties, kumon classes, dance classes, music classes etc.
The Diocese has been in touch with the Church Conservation Trust and they could be managing the grant application and restoration project.
One of the advantages of the Diocese taking the repair obligation back is that they benefit from Ecclesiastical exemption (i.e. Listed Building Consent would not be required).
Camilla indicated that the scaffolding that has been put in place for the re-wrapping of the turrets could now be in place for approximately two years as it is now providing physical support to the turrets, which are apparently in a terrible state.
Residents raised a few concerns about on-going maintenance issues, namely:
- Trees: A member of the Celestial Church explained that light touch works have been carried out according to the local authority tree officer’s permission. Su Pollard has kindly offered to speak to the tree officer in charge. If required, the Association will also speak to the council on this matter.
- Church perimeter garden: The Celestial Church has recently set up a ‘Building Committee’ and they will discuss garden maintenance.
2. Planning Update – Dowrey Street Site (P2015/0081/FUL)
Amanda reported that several residents were present at the planning committee and three were allowed to speak for 3 minutes each.
- Linda Quirk spoke about the positioning of the building;
- Tim Attwood spoke about the height of the main building and its skylights; and
- Florence Salberter spoke about parking.
All three speakers suggested approval of the planning application with specific conditions.
It was felt that residents’ concerns were not given much consideration and that the committee concluded that public benefit outweighed any issues raised. The application was approved without any of the conditions suggested being introduced.
Residents have since queried whether anything could be done/whether an appeal could be made. However, Florence explained that (i) a planning committee approval could not be appealed and (ii) the only option is to pursue a Judicial Review, which can only be sought on ‘technical matters’.
Amanda will obtain contact details for the contractor during demolition/construction phase, so that any resident issues can be addressed quickly.
3. Constitution
Amanda reminded residents that a Draft Constitution had been circulated and will be uploaded on the website as no comments had been received.
4. New Street Representative
Nick Collin has kindly offered to stand in as Street Rep for Cloudesley Square. Fred Reynolds is standing down after many years of involvement with the Cloudesley Association. We would like to thank Fred for his involvement over the past few years.
5. Miscellaneous
Scaffolding: Amanda raised the issue of the scaffolding on Stonefield Street that has been up for months. Not only is the scaffolding unsightly and the loose tarpaulins pretty noisy in the wind, it must also be costing the taxpayer a fortune to keep the scaffolding up. She will raise this with the local authority.
Bins: Su Pollard queried why bins had been removed. Amanda will enquire about a public skip being reintroduced.
Street Party: Su also suggested that we should organise a party! Possible dates to be considered over the summer months.
As ever, if you know of any neighbour who is not on the Cloudesley Association e mail distribution list, please ask them to provide us with their contact details so that they can be kept in the loop.
Happy Easter!
Amanda and Florence
On behalf of
The Cloudesley Association
Chair: Amanda Gill
Secretary: Florence Salberter
Website: www.cloudesleyassociation.org
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
