Bargains on biblical scale in Kirk sales

Published on Saturday 23 April 2011 11:34

THEY may need some attention and the neighbours might be closer than you would strictly want but they could be heaven-sent for first-time buyers.

The Church of Scotland has put a number of old kirks on the market at bargain-basement prices to try to raise funds and sell off unwanted properties.

Among some of the more keenly-priced buildings is the Kilbride Church near Millhouse, Argyll, on sale for offers over 25,000, while Holywood Church in Dumfries, is on the market for upwards of 35,000.

Offers over 40,000 are being invited for the Grade B listed Bargrennan Church in Newton Stewart.

On the upside, most are historic properties in beautiful rural locations and surrounded by stunning countryside. However, some have no running water, require the urgent services of plumbers and electricians and have a graveyard attached.

Buyers are warned that if they are unhappy with the proximity of the departed, it costs around 4,000 to exhume and move a body.

The Kirk is acting because with strain on its budgets, there is an urgent need to reduce the burden of unused properties. With more than 3,000 buildings, the Kirk has responsibility for more built heritage than Historic Scotland and National Trust combined, but many are redundant and expensive to maintain.

The Rev Dr James Jack, vice-chairman of the General Trustees, which manages the upkeep and maintenance of the thousands of Kirk properties, said: "This is a result of a natural wastage in terms of congregations shrinking in size and so we're having to rationalise our buildings.

"But what we find is that either because they're in the middle of graveyards or have substantial problems fabric-wise, or because they are listed buildings which means that they are difficult to turn into different usage, the price is reflected in that.

"It's frustrating if our buildings are worth less than we hoped they were, but that is current market value."

As with the rest of the property market, there is a split between rural and urban areas that means generally that city or town-centre churches have a higher price- tag. Even then, most are within the price-range of a reasonable mortgage.

The Gothic-style splendour of Mount Florida Parish Church in Glasgow is available for offers over 250,000, Wallacetown Church in Ayr and its adjacent hall is on the market for around 240,000, while St Columba High Church, in Inverness, is inviting offers in excess of 200,000.

At the top end of the price spectrum, however, the vast Greyfriars John Knox church in Aberdeen city centre is going for 1.27 million.

The current restrictions on mortgage lending is driving down prices further, Jack said."The ones (churches] in the country tend to be good for being converted into residential use.

"But with the current financial restraint on getting mortgages, particularly for young folk who like a challenge to turn a church into a dwelling, it's difficult to get the finances required. That's not for the purchase but for the renovations that is required to bring it up to standard to live in, so that's also reflected in the prices that we're able to obtain."

Jamie Macnab, of estate agents Savills, said churches are popular with "architecturally-minded" people looking for a challenge, and if the conversion is "well-designed and well-finished", it could prove a worthwhile purchase

One new trend is for congregations and local community groups to take the step of purchasing churches to hold on to them as public buildings.

However, according to Victoria Collison-Owen, director of the Scottish Redundant Church Trust (SRCT), the practice is creating a "time-bomb" that could see historic buildings left to rot in a legal limbo. "It's quite an easy task for a group to raise the purchase price but it's what happens next that is the really difficult thing.

"There's a concern within the trust that some of these purchases aren't sustainable." There had already been an incident where every member of a trust that had bought a church had died without making arrangements for its future, and it had been left to wrack and ruin, she added.

The SRCT has taken on historically and architecturally important churches the Kirk can no longer support.

However, for Jack the attraction of taking on a former church property is obvious.

He said: "The Church of Scotland has about 3,000 plus buildings in its possession and no two of them are the same. Each one is unique, and that's not just because of location.

"It's just that we've ended up with buildings that have never been reproduced in a mass-production way, and to live in a building that has a history and character to it can be much more interesting than living in a modern housing estate."