St Barnabas Church, Hereford, is to be demolished soon

The Oasis Church fellowship, based in St Barnabas church in Venns Close, has been told that once their rental agreement expires on March 31 they will be given a month’s notice before they are forced to stop using the building and the church of England takes vacant possession, according to councillor Frank Cornthwaite.

Coun Cornthwaite said that whilst the diocese was keen to encourage the Oasis fellowship to start looking elsewhere, they had no interest in the four other fellowships that actively use the building.

READ MORE:

• Long-running Herefordshire café will be closing next month

• Herefordshire dog attack leaves family in shock

• 'My house is more important than curlews' claims Hereford flood victim

Despite 109 representations being made against a draft scheme to demolish the building, and only one in favour, it has been confirmed that the church of Saint Barnabas will be destroyed and that the consecrated areas of the site will be transferred to the Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance for disposal, with the intention that the property will be sold for redevelopment as a care home facility.

The Church Commissioners for England said that they regretted the need for demolition, both in terms of the Church’s collective environmental commitments, but also because the building was still in a reasonable condition and is currently in use.

However, they were of the opinion that there was no scope to sell the church site separately, so the commissioners agreed the demolition was justified in this context, to provide new care home facilities, which were needed in the local area, and were a social good.