It looks like the derelict church on Barkly St, currently surrounded by security fencing, will be repaired.
The announcement follows a string of confusing messages from Hume City Council and owner of the building Uniting Church, during the past few weeks as SunburyLife pushed to establish the building’s future.
The church, built in 1879, held services until the 1970s. In 1976 it was leased by Uniting Church to the Department for Families Fairness and Housing on the understanding it would be used for the good of the wider community – perhaps as accomodation.
However, it seems the building has been left unused for decades, and in recent times has attracted vandals.
The state of the building became so bad that Hume Council erected a fence around it in November to keep people out.
At the time, a council spokesperson said: “An inspection of the site by a council building inspector resulted in the issue of an emergency order by council’s deputy municipal building surveyor, which among other things, required the owner to erect barriers or fencing to restrict access to the site.”
Later, a spokesperson for Uniting Church said the church site would be used for housing, but Hume Council said it knew nothing of any planning application for the site.
This week, a spokesperson for Homes Victoria says an inspection of the church found that while the building remains structurally sound, repairs are required.
“Homes Victoria is working with the Uniting Church to co-ordinate these repairs,” says the spokesperson. “Homes Victoria has no current plans to develop further housing on the site.”
See our other reports on the church here.
