A Bath Councillor is suggesting that the Holy Trinity Church building in Bath could be converted into a multi-purpose venue to serve the community.
The future of the Grade II-listed Church has been uncertain since 2011, when the last service was held.
The building has lain empty for five years and earlier this summer was put up for sale.
Councillor Andrew Furse, who represents Kingsmead ward in which the Church is located, commented: “With Holy Trinity coming up for sale, there is a golden opportunity for the Church to be converted into a multi-purpose venue for cultural, social, charity and community uses.
“There is a very large space available and I understand it is already partly laid out as halls, offices and meeting rooms, so there is scope for many local organisations to be accommodated on either a permanent or occasional basis.”
“Many local residents have said it should be used for local charities and other bodies, such as theatre groups, which are in need of space for offices, art, rehearsals, performances and counselling.
“A scheme along these lines would be fitting, given the Church’s long history of use by counselling charities and performance groups, and might well be easier to achieve than a residential conversion.”
Councillor Dine Romero (Southdown, Lib Dem) added: “Holy Trinity does have potential to become a wonderful hub for local people and organisations.
“This could do for the charity, arts and voluntary sectors what the co-working hub has done for small business start-ups.”
“I would like to see B&NES Council investigate whether it could take the lead in purchasing the church or backing a consortium of local groups to do so.
“There are many examples of successful multi-use schemes in old church buildings and a scheme at Holy Trinity has the potential to meet the growing needs of a range of organisations and benefit the whole community.”
