A CHURCH that has been slowly falling into a state of disrepair will be bulldozed and turned into homes, Chelmsford City Council revealed.

The abandoned All Saints Church in King’s Road and its adjacent function hall have suffered arson and graffiti attacks since closing their doors three years ago.

Now, the site is set to be levelled after Chelmsford City Council planners last week struck up an agreement with Dunmow-based DeVere Homes to build 10 properties on the site.

De Vere’s design and access statement said: “Both buildings are now redundant and in need of new use there is no requirement for continuing community use.

“The church is a fine example of a particular style of post- war architecture.

“[The buildings] are currently boarded up and in very poor condition, having been vandalised, the victim of an arson attack, and badly affected by graffiti.”

After the church closed, and with Chelmsford Diocese unable to find a buyer, worshippers, who have used the buildings for about 50 years, joined the congregation at the Ascension church in Maltese Road.

Now the deal has been struck, work can begin on the construction of six one-bedroom, three two-bedroom and one three-bedroom apartments.

A spokesman for Chelmsford Diocese said: “We have to be realistic that when a 60s church building is structurally unsound, beyond rescue and surplus to requirements – like All Saints was a local planning authority may have no alternative but to approve an application for demolition and redevelopment from someone who purchases the building.

“The All Saints people were happy to process out of their derelict building and combine with their brothers and sisters at the Ascension.

“The diocese consulted widely about the closure of All Saints and on the future of the building and we were clear that Ascension church could fulfil the needs of the neighbourhood.

“We could not find any use for the All Saints building and so we had to put the site on the market.”