Update 22 July 2025
The Trustees of the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance (CDBF) have given Birch Inspire (formerly Save our Spire), a further six months to provide a fully costed business plan for the Birch Church site, subject to the following conditions:
a) The provision of a satisfactory business plan showing both the capital and operational phases of Birch InSpire’s proposal.
b) That the business plan is prepared in suitable time within that six month period to have had dialogue with the National Lottery Heritage Fund so as to show that an application to them is a feasible option, and
c) The commencement of pre-planning process with Colchester City Council.
The Diocese of Chelmsford has worked closely with the local community and the Church Commissioners since 1990, when the church closed for public worship, to find an appropriate use for the Birch Church site.
In 2023, Chelmsford Diocese published plans for a memorial garden, but after a campaign from the Save our Spire group to save and restore the derelict building and spire, CDBF Trustees agreed to postpone demolition until June 2024, to provide Save our Spire with time to develop and present a fully costed business plan. This is the third extension that the Trustees have granted since.
Commenting on the Trustees latest decisions, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Chelmsford said:
“We welcome the progress that Birch Inspire has made in recent months and the CDBF Trustees considered a further extension was appropriate to help all parties ascertain whether Birch Inspire’s plans can be realised. We very much hope they can, but at the same time, we are increasingly aware of some concerns in the local community about how long this is taking, particularly from those people for whom the derelict building is causing a problem, including those who visit loved ones’ graves on the site. We are doing everything we can to support Birch Inspire in their plans, but this will need to be the final extension given the problems that the derelict building continues to cause. If the conditions of this extension aren’t met and a fully costed, viable and robust business plan isn’t delivered within this six-month timeline, the trustees will move to progress the memorial garden project without further negotiation.
“The Trustees are also very mindful of the fact that the site continues to generate costs for the CDBF while it remains in its current state and we have a responsibility to help ensure that the mission and ministry in more than 500 parish churches across Essex and East London is resourced and supported and it is important that any decisions we take do not undermine the fulfilment of that responsibility. Contrary to popular belief the funding for those parish churches comes almost entirely from their Sunday collection plates and modest voluntary donations.
“We have always been committed to working with the local community to find the best, viable way forward for the future of Birch Church and this very much remains the case.”
Update 14 December 2023
On 17 October representatives from the Diocese of Chelmsford were pleased to meet with representatives of the Save our Spire Group and to listen to their proposals and concerns about the Birch Church building. During that meeting there was a discussion about whether it would still be possible to transfer ownership of the Birch Church site if the Save our Spire group can form a viable proposal to restore, receive and maintain the tower and spire.
The Trustees of the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance have now met and agreed to postpone the demolition of the church building in order to provide the Save our Spire Group with a period up until the end of June 2024 to present a detailed, fully funded and credible proposal to Chelmsford Diocese. Such a proposal could then be used as the basis to apply for a new scheme from the Church Commissioners as an alternative to demolition.
The Diocese of Chelmsford has worked closely with the local community and the Church Commissioners for more than three decades to find an alternative use for the church building at Birch. A number of solutions were put forward during this period, and it has been a cause of considerable disappointment for the Diocese that none of the solutions was ultimately feasible. It is important to make clear that the decision to postpone the demolition to allow time for a further solution to be explored is not straightforward and has been a difficult one for the Diocese to take.
Firstly, while we recognise and understand the concerns of those who wish to retain the tower and spire, we are also very mindful that for some in the local community, especially those who are burying loved ones or visiting loved ones’ graves, any delay to works will be frustrating given the current and necessary safety restrictions on site.
Secondly, postponing the demolition also risks further costs for the Diocese of Chelmsford, particularly in the current inflationary environment. Our Trustees have a responsibility to help ensure that the mission and ministry in more than 500 parish churches across Essex and East London is resourced and supported and it is important that any decisions they take do not undermine the fulfilment of that responsibility.
For these reasons, it is essential that any proposal from Save our Spire is presented and agreed by the end of June, otherwise we will need to proceed with demolition in the autumn of 2024.
We have always been committed to working with the local community to find the best, viable way forward for the future of Birch Church and this very much remains the case.
