Scheme involving demolition of church building for housing moves forward

Work to demolish a church building to make way for a new place of worship as well as housing is moving forward with completion expected early next year.

Lillington Free Church building in Leamington, which was built on Cubbington Road in 1966, has been demolished to make way for 25 shared ownership homes, including six apartments, 12 two-bedroom houses and seven three-bedroom houses.

The work on the scheme – which has now reached its highest point – is being carried out by Deeley Construction in partnership with the church and Orbit.

Once the new church, which will include a new PA system and solar panels on the roof, has been completed, the nearby church hall – constructed in the 1950s – will be demolished and a range of community activities will be staged in the new building.

The official opening of the new church building is scheduled for March 2019, and the Reverend James Church said the work was positive news for parishioners and the local community.

He said: “We’ve had support from local politicians and the local community as this is going to bring a new facility as well as much-needed affordable homes to the area.

“The previous building was in need of a great deal of work to make it fit for modern purposes and, in the end, it made more sense to knock it down and start again.

“The new church will have a kitchen, toilets and meeting rooms all under one roof when, previously, we had to use the old church hall for those purposes.

“It has been a great partnership between the church, Deeley and Orbit and we are excited to see it all coming together.”

Andy Bodily, contracts manager at Deeley Construction, said: “This scheme shows what can be done with some creative thinking and a strong partnership, which is exactly what we have here.
“It means the site will now offer a much more modern church hall for worshippers and community events as well as much-needed new homes for the community.”