Old kirk to be sold at auction
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PROSPECTIVE home buyers can snap up a piece of local history when an old kirk building goes up for auction next week – at £70,000.
The B-listed Mary Kirk at Alves dates from 1769. Although only the shell of the building remains, property agency Galbraith in Elgin says the church could lend itself well to a leisure or tourism-related development.
The building will be sold at auction on Thursday, June 27, at the Marriott Hotel in Edinburgh, with a guide price of £70,000.
Mary Kirk was built on the site of Alves Church, which dates back to the 13th century. Mary Kirk ceased to be used as a church in 1932 and after being deconsecrated it was, until recently, in the ownership of the adjacent house, The Anchorage, which was the manse at one time. There is a burial ground nearby which will not form part of the sale.
Inside, the building is stripped out down to a bare earth floor in the centre. A belfry tops the east gable.
Planning consent and a building warrant were obtained in 2014 – but have now lapsed – to convert the church into a two-storey house.
Rod Christie, of Galbraith, said: "Although the planning consent has now lapsed, it is likely that the local authority will be minded to once again approve conversion to a private home, as has been the case in other deconsecrated churches in the region. The current Moray Local Development Plan supports this use."
Galbraith added that the church has potential as a leisure or tourism-related business such as holiday cottages or glamping and that such a move would fit with Moray Local Development Plan policies.
More information is available at www.sva-auctions.co.uk
