Innovative plan for church villas

By Sharon Webb

A PLAN to build villas on Anglican church land in Deloraine is almost a certainty after the planning application was passed by Meander Valley Council.

Funds raised by the sale and rental of the eight villas to be built adjacent to St Mark’s Church on East Westbury Place in Deloraine will cover the church’s funding obligation to the National Redress Scheme for children sexually abused in institutions.

The plan is the result of an innovative collusion between St Mark’s parish council and Traders in Purple, the company behind Ridgeside Lane in Evandale and Kingston Park in Kingston.

Traders in Purple, along with Rytenskild Traffic Engineering, MRC Engineering, Lange Design, Michael Jirku Architecture, PDA Surveyors, are working pro bono to deliver the project.

St Mark’s minister, Reverend Joshua Skeat, said the parish council and his congregation are encouraged by the council approval of the application and excited by the prospect of the project becoming reality.

Council received only one representation from a nearby resident, confirming that a comment on the safety of the entrance to the complex was valid and therefore instructing that the proposed entry and exit locations be swapped.

The land for the villas, historically known as The Saleyards, and St Saviour’s Church in Meander originally had been listed for sale by Tasmania’s Anglican Diocese to cover the parish’s obligation.

The parish council paid the redress money out of parish funds to have time to make considered decisions about the land and St Saviours.

They decided to develop the Saleyards land and to consult the Meander community on the future of St Saviours Church. It is expected that work will begin early next year, to complete in November 2020.