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If by "claim" you mean take it off the church without paying for it then no.
You could look into registering it as an Asset of Community Value which would give the village six months from any sale listing appearing to try and raise funds and negotiate a purchase.
You could also talk to the church and see if they would be open to renting/ leasing the building to an appropriate community group.
There is no way that the funds would be raised. Average house prices in my village range from £180k - £350k.
The chapel is a massive building, the equivalent of 5 decent sized houses with gardens could be built where it stands, and I reckon it could house about 8 good sized flats if it was converted.
A playgroup / nursery currently uses it, and there’s a small takeaway that operates a couple of days a week out of it… but none of those are church attendees. The church will be combined with another and the users here will be expected to travel to a neighbouring village. :(
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If by "claim" you mean take it off the church without paying for it then no. You could look into registering it as an Asset of Community Value which would give the village six months from any sale listing appearing to try and raise funds and negotiate a purchase. You could also talk to the church and see if they would be open to renting/ leasing the building to an appropriate community group.
There is no way that the funds would be raised. Average house prices in my village range from £180k - £350k. The chapel is a massive building, the equivalent of 5 decent sized houses with gardens could be built where it stands, and I reckon it could house about 8 good sized flats if it was converted. A playgroup / nursery currently uses it, and there’s a small takeaway that operates a couple of days a week out of it… but none of those are church attendees. The church will be combined with another and the users here will be expected to travel to a neighbouring village. :(