A REDUNDANT Bournemouth church has been sold at auction for £1.1million and will now be turned into an upmarket clothes shop.

Interest in St Andrew's United Reformed Church in Exeter Road had been intense, with several developers keen to convert it into a restaurant or bar.

This idea had horrified local ward councillors and also prompted members of the relocated church to get a petition together.

Bournemouth businessman Richard Carr, who already owns several bars in the town, was one of those bidding to buy the grade II listed church at auction yesterday.

But he was outbid by the determined owner of Bournemouth-based clothes shop, Richmond Classics.

Successful bidder Nick Haynes said: "We're going to make this the home of Richmond Classics Ltd and intend to apply to planning to sympathetically change the use to retail.

"It's a stunning location and a stunning piece of architecture and we don't want it turned into a block of flats or anything like that.

"It's very central to Bournemouth town centre and we think it will make a wonderful setting."

He refused to confirm whether the existing shop in Richmond Hill would remain open.

David Butler, of the United Reformed Church (Wessex) Trust Ltd and representing the church's trustees, said he was "delighted" with the outcome of the sale and the money would build up their trust fund for other local churches.

"To be truthful, we don't treat this as a consecrated building so we don't have strong feelings as to how it is used in the future," he said.

"We would have liked it to be another church or for community use but it doesn't matter too much."

First published: July 22