Action ordered on landmark church

Date Published : 01 July 2009

A landowner has been asked to produce a timetable to put right a derelict church.

Walsall Council and English Heritage have asked for the roadmap to be produced for the Mellish Road church in The Butts area.

The building has been unused for more than a decade and now has major structural problems.

Architect Ian Ritchie, of Haden Ritchie Bailey, who are acting for the owners of the church said: “The owners have been investigating alternative uses that would allow the retention and refurbishment of the existing building.”

English Heritage have been involved with the talks because of the nature of the landmark building.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, Deputy Leader Walsall Council, said that Local Councillors have Residents have complained long and hard about the state of the building and we hear those concerns.

He added: “The important thing to stress is that we are helping to arrange these talks with English Heritage and the landowner but this is not our property.

“There is a clear limit to what we can do as a council because we simply don’t own the building. However, we are talking about a landmark building that is in the centre of a thriving community and which is past by thousands of people every day.

“I think at the meeting all parties realise that action needs to happen and I’m cautiously optimistic this has helped to give the issue some sense of urgency.

“We held a constructive meeting to plot a way forward. I’m pleased to say that the landowner has agreed to go away and come back with a timetable for action to resolve the issue by the end of the year.”

Alan Taylor, inspector of historic buildings at English Heritage, said: "English Heritage shares the concerns of local residents and councillors about the derelict state of this landmark building. Together with the council we have met the owners and stressed the need for an urgent resolution of its poor condition."