A VICAR says it will be an “absolute tragedy” if the Church of England decides to sell off a well-used community centre.
Startforth Morritt Primary School was set up 145 years ago as a trust with money from the Morritt family to provide education to children in Startforth. The Church of England school was closed in 2016 and the building has become a busy community centre run and maintained by villagers. The church has now applied to the government for a Section 554 and 556 order, which would create a new trust for the buildings. These trusts usually authorise the diocese to sell the property and use the proceeds to benefit other church schools.
Startforth’s vicar, Revd Canon David Tomlinson, has expressed his concern at the proposal, prior to a parish council meeting at which the issue was discussed.
He said: “It is a well-used community resource and it would be an absolute tragedy to lose it.
“My concern is in the worst-case scenario that they could ask for the keys for the property and we would lose all the activities there.”
“It means that anything we do in Startforth is under threat. It is the last community building the village, aside from the church itself.”
The community centre provides space for activities including a lunch club, community cafe, children’s nursery, chartered surveyor’s office, ballet school, forest school and practice hall for clubs, choirs and theatre groups. The situation is complicated by the fact the school is part owned by Durham County Council. The trust owns the historic building and playground and the council owns newer parts of the school and playing fields.
The centre was registered as a community asset, which would provide a six-week period to see if community group want to bid and a further six-month moratorium to raise the money if a decision is made to sell it.
Mr Tomlinson added: “I wrote to the Bishop of Leeds last week asking him to ensure all activities could continue.
“What the diocese argue is that now that the school is closed the money should be used for the education of children in Startforth, but because there is no school [in the village], it should go elsewhere. Sir Andrew Morritt has made it clear he would like to see the school kept within the community.”
Mr Tomlinson said the case could be made that the nursery in the community centre counts as education – as does the forest school. The vicar said the current trust could be amended to take this into account. He added: “In many ways it is particularly easy to amend a trust.
“However, they have not done this – hence our expectation is that if we lose, they will want to sell it to use the money for education elsewhere. They will say no decision has been made but I suspect they wish to sell it. We absolutely want to keep using the building for the benefit of the community.
“hey have in fact been maintaining the building for the past five years and they are all volunteers [running the centre].”
Cllr Richard Bell, deputy leader of Durham County Council, said: “I have written previously to the diocese about retaining the school as a community facility and will be doing so again regarding the old building.
“I have pressed for Durham County Council to keep the newer bit for the village. Startforth is growing and needs a hub more than ever.”
No one from the Church of England Diocese of Leeds was able to comment at the time of going to press.
Anyone wishing to make representations on the proposed order will need to submit them to the Department of Education by January 9. Email land.transactions@education.gov.uk.
