HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition to save their village community centre from possible closure.
The Church of England wants to change the terms of a trust set up for Startforth Community Centre’ – formerly the village school – which would allow for it to be sold off.
Campaigners have described the move as “ecclesiastical greed”.
The trust for Startforth Morritt Primary School was set up 145 years ago with money from the Morritt family. A second trust in 1892 conveyed the building to the minister and churchwardens.
The Church of England school, which is also part owned by Durham County Council, was closed in 2016 and the building has become a busy community centre, run and maintained by villagers.
Last month the Diocese of Leeds applied to the government for an order which would create a new trust for the buildings with the church as the sole trustee.
These trusts usually authorise the diocese to sell the property and use the proceeds to benefit other church schools.
The move has sparked a division between the parochial parish council and the diocese.
Startforth’s vicar, Revd Canon David Tomlinson, is opposed to the proposals and fears if the building is transferred to a new trust it could be sold off. He explained the situation to members of the
parish council at their December meeting, which was also attended by ten other residents, including members of the community centre management committee, volunteers and the owner of a forest school.
Mr Tomlinson said: “The Church of England is not one body. Every parish is a separate charity and the national church is a different charity which is why locally we can find ourselves at odds with the diocese.
“The diocese role is the bigger picture and they don’t concern themselves with the local. That is why we are in this situation because this building was built with money from the ancestors of Sir Andrew Morritt and the provision of that was a trust fund.
“Around 30 years later there was a second lot of money for the education of the poor children of Startforth which was given to the minister and the churchwardens.
“It is that trust that has got us in trouble and the diocese say if it is not getting used for the education of children in Startforth it should be used for the education of children elsewhere.
“Our legal argument is the other way around as in the first case it was given to the vicar and churchwardens in this parish.
“The whole remit of education has changed from 100 years ago. The diocese has left the parish alone for five years and I had notification through meetings with diocese staff and was aware that they were applying.
“It takes the authority from the local to the diocese and that has started.”
Mr Tomlinson added although the consultation started on December 9 and will conclude on January 9, due to the festive period it was only 18 working days.
If the Department of Education grants the order, he added, it could mean the school is sold off for development.
Mr Tomlinson said: “There should be no real change for up to a year and I really hope that is the case. I think if it does go in their favour, they [Diocese of Leeds] could work with Durham County Council to go for planning as there would be far more development potential with the field.
“I do believe we can win.”
Louise Shepherd, from Brightwoods Forest School, said: “It really is quite special.”
Startforth Neighbourhood Plan Group stated they will oppose any change of use to the building and will officially object to inappropriate planning applications.
Cllr Pat Estall said: “We should always be optimistic that we can do something. We have faced worse things before.
“I think we need to bring people in that have influence to persuade him [Bishop of Leeds] to think carefully about the decision and this school before they try and close it down.”
Cllr Peter Worley said: “The cynic in me says they knew what they were doing because of the short time of the consultation.
“I’m in full agreement with Revd Tomlinson and support him as fully as we can. If this goes, the village has nothing apart from a phone box with a defibrillator.”
The parish council will invite the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines to meet with them at the community centre as soon as possible.
Mr Tomlinson said the community should continue using the centre, adding increased usage would strengthen the argument the building should remain in local control.
A petition stating the consultation is flawed has already been signed by hundreds of residents.
It points out key services such as a daily nursery, lunch club, community café, ballet school, forest school and much more would be lost to “ecclesiastical greed” if the centre was closed.
It also states the consultation contains inaccuracies to amount of money in the trust and omits to mention the building was registered as a community asset.
Volunteers will be going door to door in Startforth to collect more signatures before it is delivered to the department of education in Darlington on Monday, January 9.
A spokesperson for the Anglican Diocese of Leeds said: “The Anglican Diocese of Leeds is committed to serving the needs of all its parishes.
“Issues surrounding the future of Startforth Morritt Primary School are complex and the diocese is working with the Department for Education to ensure the original charitable purpose of the Trust is upheld.
“The terms of the trust are very narrow and the community activities, nursery and forest school do not fall within the scope of the trust. We realise this is frustrating for all involved. However,there is a duty to comply with charity law and we are committed to working closely with the current trustees to ensure the best outcome in line with those obligations is achieved.”
