A Victorian Catholic Church in Wales has appeared on an estate agent website, eight years after closing.
Our Lady of the Angels and St Winefride, located in the centre of Aberystwyth, has been the subject of a running dispute over the future of the building for around 16 years.
Archdiocesan officials have claimed that they don’t have the funds to restore and repair the property, citing a survey that estimated it would cost £2.6m to renovate. Parishioners and local activists have disputed this figure, however, pointing to their own survey that puts the price of repairs at £625,000. The Archdiocese of Menevia’s bishop at the time, Tom Burns, said in 2018 that insurers declared the building had structural and subsidence issues and would need major works to ensure the safety of worshippers. Local campaigners have disputed this as well, claiming that several other studies show no evidence of structural weakness.
Now the Church has appeared on the website of a local estate agents and one local councillor has accused the diocese of “asset-stripping” the parish. The advert, placed with John Francis estate agents, has asked for “offers in the region of £250,000” for the building, which it says has “enough room for up to 20 houses”. The unannounced move to sell off the property is likely to further inflame tensions, given the tortuous history of the property. Speaking to local news, one resident, Cllr Lucy Huws, stated that it was important for the community to “buy back” the “unloved property.
After the closure of St Winifrides in 2012, the Catholic community was left without a permanent place of worship until 2018, when a renovated church in neighbouring Penparcau was reopened. Given that this requires Catholics living in Aberstwyth to travel out-of-town to worship, the decision hasn’t resolved concerns over the closure. The 155-year-old Church is much loved by residents, and the decision to close it was deeply controversial, leading to petitions, prayer vigils and letters of protest against the archdiocese’s decision. Although the sale of the Church indicates that fears the historic building would be demolished are, for the moment, unfounded, the redevelopment of the property, located in a conservation area, may draw further criticism. The Tablet has asked the Diocese of Menevia for comment, but has received no reply at the time of writing.
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