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PLANS for a new church as part of a major town centre development in Dorchester have foundered.

Leaders of the Acland Road Evangelical Church had been looking forward to moving into a new building on the Charles Street site. But developer Simons now says financial pressures rule it out of the mix of shops and housing due to start in 2009.

Mark Lewis, development manager for Simons, said: "Regrettably, we've had to tell the Acland Road Evangelical Church that it will no longer be possible to include the relocated church within the new development.

"We were hoping this would be achievable and we know the church was too. The reasons for this are financial.

"However, I must emphasise that the project itself remains viable and tenant interest remains strong despite the general recent downturn in the market.

"Dorchester is a town that retailers want to come to and opportunities have been severely limited because of the lack of premises in the town capable of accommodating modern retailer requirements.

"Additionally, the scheme is not dependent on any one tenant, which is a source of strength when market conditions are less than ideal.

"We fully expect to remain in a position to submit a planning application this summer and we will be continuing dialogue with the Acland Road Evangelical to try to identify the best possible outcome for them."

The developer will now be looking at other ways to relocate the church to be able to demolish the existing building as part of the building work.

Layout plans emerging through consultation with the public and various organisations showed a corner site earmarked for a new church.

The church's minister Roger Frapwell said he and the church trustees were keen to move into a purpose-built community church building on the Charles Street site.

He said: "Our church has grown and we are struggling to do what we do in an old building. A move would be good and that corner site would be great."

He said the present church building was more than 100 years old and a new building would offer better facilities to cater for all ages and needs. Mr Frapwell said: "When you think of a new church don't think of a spire and pews and grey stone - it's a community facility for a Christian ethos.

"We've made the best of an old building - it's not that pretty to look at but it's what you do on the inside that matters.

"At present we struggle to get everyone in on a Sunday and it's difficult to offer the range of activities that we would want to do for the community."

He said it was essential that a new church was built and ready to move into before leaving the old building.

The Charles Street site is currently used mainly for car parking.

Development plans have been explored for more than 20 years with different developers involved.

Information packs for the latest consultation are available at Dorchester Tourist Information Centre and a public meeting will be held at the town's Dorford Centre on April 22.

10:46am Friday 28th March 2008

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