Community groups petition to save their home from closure

A Methodist chapel used as a village community hub for 15 years has been put on the market, with groups given a deadline to vacate the premises. Olivier Vergnault reports

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COMMUNITY groups in South East Cornwall could disappear after the Methodist Church decided to put the chapel they use as a meeting place up for sale.

For the last 15 years, the chapel in Downderry, known as The Zone, has been used by groups including a dance fitness club, a table tennis club, a craft cafe, a music club and Bread and Babes, a local community group for parents, babies, toddlers and preschoolers. It is also regularly used for dance, film and music events, as well as Deviock Parish Council meetings.

‘The Zone, or Downderry Methodist Church, to give it its full name, was registered as an ‘asset of community value’ in October 2023 via the Localism Act 2011, which introduced the Community Right to Bid.

‘The Act gives community groups the opportunity to register an interest in making a bid and allows them time to raise capital in order to purchase assets within a specified ‘moratorium’ period of six months.

Helen Thomas, who has lived in the village for 25 years, said the Zone Health and Wellbeing Hub was registered as a Community Interest Organisation (CIC) in October last year. A planning application to change the use of the Zone from a place of worship to a community building was approved by Cornwall Council on April 25 to ensure that the building remains a valued public asset.

However, on July 11, the South East Cornwall Methodist Circuit (SECMC) informed the various community groups using The Zone that they had four weeks to leave from August 12, as the chapel has now been put on the market.