Disabled mum, 59, says poor West London community will suffer if food bank that provides breads fruit and vegetables is lost
| Date | 01 April 2021 |
| Published date | 01 April 2021 |
In June 2018, developer Fruition Properties received planning permission to demolish it and build a 20-storey block of 85 flats. Twenty of those flats would be let at “affordable” rents while the rest will be sold at market price, planning documents show.
But this planning permission, awarded by the Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation OPDC came with a three-year time limit. If no work is carried out before this point, the developer would have to submit a new planning application.
Fruition is now pushing to start demolition before its deadline in June, and the church’s supporters fear some of the community activities that happen there will be lost.
Jennifer Green is a local resident who queues for the church’s food bank on Friday mornings with dozens of others.
The 57-year-old, who worked as a book binder until her disability left her unable to work, said: “I go there for food because my family is shielding. It’s a blessing. They do different breads, fruit and vegetables, cheese and potatoes.
“It would be a shame if this happened to the church. I’ve never seen one that does so much for people so I always support it. It’s a poor neighbourhood but everyone helps one another.
"There will be nowhere for these people to go.”
The mother-of-two, who has Scoliosis, said her children used to attend the church’s after-school clubs and receive extra tuition for maths and English.
Ms Green added: “And they have classes for the elderly and sessions where they can do some exercise. They deliver food to people. Since Covid-19 a lot of people have been there for food.”
The church’s leadership was unwilling to comment while its negotiations with the developer are ongoing, but it is understood that in 2019 it found smaller premises one mile away in Craven Park to relocate to.
This new property comprises only one quarter of its current floor space. Much of the church’s income came from a nursery which closed for months on end due to the pandemic. Moving to the new premises would mean cutting its nursery places from 80 to 25.
Supporters of the church have claimed that Fruition...
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