With Dublin in danger of losing two of its Presbyterian churches, An Taisce has accused the church authorities of adopting a "scorched earth" policy towards its stock of historic buildings.
Planning permission already has been granted to demolish the church in Tritonville Road, Sandymount, so that the site can be redeveloped by the Presbyterian Residential Trust to provide 14 sheltered housing units and eight two-bedroom apartments.
Meanwhile, An Taisce has just lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanala against a decision by Dublin Corporation to grant planning permission for a "massive" four-storey office block to the rear of the Presbyterian church in Adelaide Road.
The church authorities are seeking permission for this scheme to raise funds for the reconstruction of this mid-19th-century, neo-classical temple to provide a new church and community facilities behind the retained facade of the existing building.
Dr John Reid, a member of both the Adelaide Road congregation and the Presbyterian Residential Trust, said An Taisce was "entitled to its viewpoint", but he pointed out that the Sandymount church had been empty for 20 years and it was not a listed building.
However, Ms Valerin Yeaton of An Taisce said this "small church set in lovely grounds" had been a focal point for the community since 1860. `'I think there will be great disquiet in the area when people realise it's going to be demolished," she added.
It was An Taisce's view that the demolition of old churches should not be an option, even when the aim was to secure funding for desirable projects such as the planned sheltered housing scheme. "We believe the cost to our heritage is too great," Ms Yeaton said.
According to Dr Reid, the existing church on Adelaide Road "has to be demolished to build a modern church behind the facade and also to provide space for our community outreach activities in the area". The proposed office block was needed to raise funds, he said.
Only the facade, portico and railings are listed for preservation. The whole building, which closes the vista from Earlsfort Terrace, was to be included on List 1 in the new city plan, but this upgrading of its status was successfully resisted by the Presbyterians.
In its appeal, the Dublin city branch of An Taisce said An Bord Pleanala should take account of material changes in circumstances since 1992 when permission was first granted for an office block on the site, including new legislation to protect listed buildings.
There was now an opportunity to reassess the situation, it maintained. Working with the existing building, it should be possible to conserve its interior while providing additional accommodation in a way that would not compromise it.
While An Taisce commended the Presbyterian Church for developing community-oriented schemes, such as Dolebusters at the Adelaide Road church, it said the extent of this "worthy activity" was generating space requirements which conflicted with the conservation imperative.
It said the existing galleried church building was "an important part of the architectural heritage of the city and, in particular, of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland", which needed to "come to terms" with its responsibility for its historic buildings' legacy.
The planned demolitions in Adelaide Road and Sandymount showed that the Presbyterians had not "learned the lessons of the last 30 years", notably about the conversion of churches to new uses, according to An Taisce. "No other congregation adopts this scorched earth policy."
It described the proposed office block to the rear of the Adelaide Road church as a "cumbrous, semi-pastiche" building. And though its "unwieldy" mansard roof had been dropped, it was unclear what impact it would have on the important view from Earlsfort Terrace.
