A cash-strapped congregation has been forced to abandon long-standing plans to restore a landmark church ruin.
Faced with mounting debts of around £125,000, church-goers in Bankfoot are now moving to tear down their old kirk, which was extensively damaged by fire 12 years ago.
The 19th century Auchtergaven and Moneydie Parish Church was left a blackened shell after it went up in flames in February 2004.
Church leaders drew up plans for a major £500,000 restoration project, aimed at bringing the tower back into use.
But now, a series of misfortunes has left the congregation looking at having the building dismantled.
After a recent report revealed the building may not survive another bad winter, the congregation considered two options.
The first proposal involves safely dismantling the building, leaving a waist high footprint of the town. The stonework would be kept in storage so that – if funds ever became available – they could be used to build a new construction on the site. This move could cost about £35,000.
The second, more costly option, is to dismantle the walls of the church and renovate the tower. However, this could be as much as £570,000.
Reverend Adrian Lough said: “Unfortunately, we have had to make this stark choice. We have written to people in the village to let them know what’s going on because we know there is a lot of interest in this building.”
He said: “We had hoped that we could pay for the restoration by selling off the manse, which was no longer being used.
“But the manse went on the market just before the financial crash and although we did manage to sell it, we didn’t get the price we were needing. Not even close.”
The General Trustees of the Church of Scotland, which owns the building, said they would only be willing to allow the congregation to borrow enough money for the first option.
The B-listed property is now on the official Buildings at Risk register.
Engineers found that last winter’s storms had taken its toll on the building.
“It was suggested that if we have another bad winter, the tower may well be in danger of collapse or be in such a state of disrepair that restoration would no longer be possible,” said Mr Lough.
“In other words, if we don’t do something soon, the whole building could be lost forever.
“Our aim is still to enable the site to be safe and something that the whole of Bankfoot village can be proud of rather than the sad ruin that we see today.”
The congregation was moved into the purpose-built Bankfoot Church Centre in 2008.
