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The Rector and Wardens of Blandford Forum Parish Church have made the following statement in response to recent media interest in the state of the parish church of St Peter and St Paul.
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"Concern has been expressed in the media about the state of the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Blandford Forum, and this concern is shared by both the town and the Church communities. The Parish Church, built in the years after the fire which devastated the town in 1731, has been a source of concern for many decades, although work to address individual issues, such as heating and the sound system has always been undertaken as and when needed.
Following their closure in October 2004 due to the discovery of asbestos, the PCC decided that the replacement of the Parish Rooms was their main priority, as the growing Congregation was severely limited by a lack of suitable meeting space. A strategy was agreed at this time (2005) which recognised that the finite resources of the Church, in terms of people and finance, meant that only one large project could be undertaken at a time and whilst any immediate health and safety issues relating to the Church building would be addressed, the main concern must be the building of a Parish Centre. They further agreed that the issue of the fabric of the Church building would be addressed in a major restoration, refurbishment and reordering project, rather than a series of smaller projects, once the new Parish Centre was completed.
In 2007, the Church called a meeting of Heritage and local Government bodies to inform them of the progress of this work and to reaffirm the intention to launch the major project concerning the Church building as soon as possible. Delays in the Parish Centre Project, due to planning permission and other factors have inevitably meant that the Church building project has been further delayed.
The deterioration in the state of the Cupola has also been a subject of concern and the PCC has been carefully monitoring this situation with the assistance of the Church architect, John Turnbull, and the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group. It is clear, however, that action will be required within the next 12 - 24 months and a strategy for this has been agreed.
The PCC has recently reaffirmed the strategy agreed in 2005 and will be announcing the details of the restoration project in the Spring of 2010, once the Parish Centre is opened and available for use. The Cupola will be the subject of the first phase of this project and details of the strategy to address the situation will be announced at this time.
It is hoped that the issuing of this Statement will enable there to be confidence that the PCC of St Peter and St Paul is taking seriously the matter of their responsibility for the future of the Church building and that concerns such as have been expressed will be addressed at the appropriate time according to the strategy which the PCC have agreed."
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