west end letters: St Mark's | Lady Sainsbury

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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 10 October 2008

We’re keen to see St Mark’s used

• I would like to reassure Lady Sainsbury and all your readers that we are aware of all the facts regarding St Mark’s church, (‘Shelve plan to replace church with spa’, Lady Sainsbury tells council, October 3).
I accept we made a mistake in the statement, we should not have said it had lain empty, and I apologise for that. The fact is it has been used as a church by Lady Sainsbury’s congregation since the mid 1990s, and in 2000 the congregation she is part of was allowed to stay in a caretaker capacity only as they were unable to raise the funds to pay for the urgent repairs this important listed building requires in the long term.
The building was declared redundant by the Church of England some 30 years ago, but I can see why Lady Sainsbury was somewhat irked by our wording. We are keen to see the church used permanently, and we want to ensure that a viable long-term use is found that generates the necessary money to repair and restore the building so that it can be taken off English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk Register.
When the proposals are discussed at committee the council will, of course, take Lady Sainsbury’s concerns into account in deciding a course of action which will safeguard the long term viability of this beautiful and historic building.
The planning proposals can be viewed online and in local libraries and one-stop shops, and members of the public are, of course, more than entitled to attend the planning committee where councillors will make their final decision. Although the official consultation period is now over, members of the public can submit their views about this up until the committee meeting itself.
Rosemarie MacQueen
Director of Planning and City Development

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld.
Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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