The panel appointed to proceed to the sale of Church House has told the General Board meeting in Belfast on Thursday 14 October that one of its key principles in the plan for the replacement building is that "the new building must have a presence appropriate to our denomination and should be clearly identifiable as the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland."
Another guiding principle will be to ensure that a new Church House will be "flexible and versatile to meet not only current but future needs and that there will be facilities to accommodate regular Board and Committee meetings."
The report mentioned no sites commenting that "preliminary discussions must take place before any objective consideration of sites can be undertaken."
The panel has also appointed DTZ McCombe Pierce as selling agents with the intention of completing all necessary work in time to go to the market in early January.
The report commented that much discussion has taken place about the best way to ensure that the present Church House is not used in the future for purposes which would cause embarrassment to the Church. The General Assembly's solicitor has pointed out the limitations of restrictive covenants and with the support of the selling agents it is felt that the most effective approach is to positively market the property for uses which would not offend the ethos of the Church. While no absolute guarantee can be given for the future, an assessment of the use to which a prospective buyer intends to put the building will be an important element in the selection process at the point of sale.
The panel expects to report to the next General Board in February, its assessment of potential sites.
Issued by Sarah Harding, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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