Developers take over Garrison Church

12.00.00am GMT Fri 21st Dec 2007

Garrison Church

Colchester's historic Garrison Church has been handed over to the developers of the new Colchester Garrison.

Confirmation of the change of ownership, which it has been revealed happened last week, has been given in a Parliamentary Written Answer to Colchester MP Bob Russell who had tabled a Question to the Secretary of State for Defence.

Today Mr Russell said that he was saddened that such an important landmark, which has dominated the street scene in Military Road for more than 150 years, had passed from public ownership into private hands without there being any firm plans or assurances that it would continue to have a public use.

Mr Russell said: "I have serious concerns over what will now happen to the Garrison Church, which is the largest wooden church in the country. It is a Grade II Listed Building because of its historic and architectural interest. It has been stripped of its church furniture and its future is very uncertain."

He added: "It is a great pity that organisations and residents who want to see the Garrison Church saved for public use will now have an even harder battle to achieve this, because I am told that the developers - despite the Council believing that the Garrison Church would continue in some form of public use - are planning to put the building and site on the market to get as much money as they can from a commercial point of view rather than bothering about the interests of the general public."

The developers have obtained ownership of the Church for "free" as part of the deal under which they are building the new Colchester Garrison.

The Parliamentary Answer given to Mr Russell by Armed Forces Minister Mr Derek Twigg also reveals that the former Garrison Theatre, part of Goojerat Barracks, "may be handed over any time after 28th December 2007" - and that the Victorian Gymnasium, next to the Indoor Swimming Pool, has already been passed to the developer "subject to a lease back arrangement pending the provision of new facilities under the terms of the Private Finance Initiative when the old Gymnasium will no longer be required." The new facilities are expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

Mr Russell said that the fears he had for the Garrison Church were ones he also had for the Garrison Theatre and the Victorian Gymnasium. "I am hearing disturbing rumours that the developers are also looking to sell both these Listed Buildings to the highest bidder, perhaps seeking to claim that the uses will comply with the Council's planning agreement that they must be retained for community use whereas I am pretty sure that what Councillors had in mind when the agreement was made that these three buildings would be made available for community use in the generally understood meaning of the word - as meeting places for community groups such as Churches and the Scouts, not as some expensive venue run by commercial concerns."

He added: "Let's be quite clear. The developers have obtained these three impressive public buildings without paying a penny. That's a consequence of the PFI agreement which the Government has with the developers - and Colchester residents look like losing out as a result, unless the Council can uphold the spirit of what was intended when it was stated they would be retained for community use."

It is understood that six local churches, working together as "The Abbey Field Project", had expressed an interest in obtaining the former Garrison Theatre as a Church centre to serve residents who will live in the 2,500 houses being built on the former Garrison.