Historic Doncaster landmark set to go on the market for the price of a house

Developer Surjit Duhre says he has now accepted that he is not going to be able to go ahead with plans to demolish Balby Road Methodist Church and replace it with new flats.

And that means he is now looking at selling the ‘iconic’ Victorian landmark, with the site expected to go on the market for around £225,000.

Mr Duhre had appealed against the decision to list the building, and has yet to hear an official verdict on his appeal. But says the feedback he has received leads him to believe it will remain listed, which would mean it could not be demolished.

He said: “They have explained why it’s been listed for a host of reasons. I can’t do what I’d planned now because of the rules, and I have lost my buyers.

“I’m not going to fight it further. Anything else is throwing more money down the drain. You have to respect the law.

“Now I need to find someone who will step up and take it on.”

He believes the site of the church was significant in the signing the Treaty of Durham, a peace treaty between England and Scotland, nearly 900 years ago, after Doncaster was seized by the Scots

He added: “It is a beautiful building, there’s no doubt. Iconic.”

The church was given grade two listed status by Historic England, following an application from The Victorian Society.

Granting listed status, Historic England gave four reasons why the building was of architectural interest. It added it was of historical interest because ‘the prominent location and exuberant appearance of the chapel demonstrates a pride and self-belief on the part of the aspirational, working-class congregation at a time when urban Doncaster was booming, driven primarily by the growth of engineering, particularly for the railways.’

Doncaster Council had previously approved demolition.

A planning application for the developer warned that with no current interest in the building itself, it could stand empty for years and fall into further disrepair.

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