A COMMUNITY group which bid to buy the famous "Burke and Hare church" has said they are "disgusted" by the treatment they received from the Church of Scotland.
Newton Parish Church in Danderhall was put up for sale earlier this year but locals were hoping they could purchase the historic site and repurpose it to hold weddings and funerals as well as teach the community about its rich history.
When it was announced the building would be going up for sale, the local community group – Friends of the Old Newton Parish Church – rallied together in the hopes of buying the small kirk and turning it into a community hub where they could preserve the building’s history.
However, their bid was rejected by the Church of Scotland.
The Church of Scotland is in the process of selling hundreds of old church buildings as they try to balance significant building costs and declining congregations.
The group has said it knows of other community groups who feel they didn’t have enough time to prepare plans and secure funding in order to make a proper bid for local church buildings.
The local communities often lose out to the highest bidder, who often have minimal community connections, one spokesperson said.
The criticism comes as Community Land Scotland calls for church building sales where there is a community interest, to be in a 10-12 month timeframe, in order to give communities a fair chance to consult, plan and raise funding.
Linsay Chalmers, director of communities and operations at Community Land Scotland, said: “The Newton Kirk group has spoken out now and it seems like another strong example of a community which is unhappy with the Church authorities, and the obvious strength of feeling in their comments echoes the feelings of many groups across Scotland.
“Many of the groups don’t want to speak publicly. But we continue to hear strong complaints from communities who feel they haven’t been given adequate time to prepare their plans and to raise the money for the purchase.
“Some churches are sold amicably to the community, but many groups are very disappointed that there are few concessions to the time required. The buildings often go to the highest bidder irrespective of community connection”
The spokesperson for the Friends of the Old Newton Parish Church, said: “We knew the church was coming on the market, but not when. There was no ‘for sale’ sign erected, nor anything on social media locally.”
Despite the lack of notice, the Newton Kirk group then took early encouragement from help they received from the Scottish Land Fund and the Community Ownership Support Service in efforts to raise funding.
The community also wanted time to research Community Right to Buy which would help prioritise a local bid. But any Community Right to Buy registration needed extra time to prepare the application.
The Friends of Old Newton Parish Kirk spokesperson added: “Our community petitioned the Church of Scotland with hundreds of emails asking that they hold back the sale for a Community Right to Buy bid. But the Trustees refused.”
The Newton Kirk group’s Business Plan for the building was a multi-purpose community centre in the middle of an extensive new housing development.
The closing date for offers was then extended by three weeks shortly before the date was reached, to local surprise.
“Keeping in mind that the sale couldn’t be held for our Community Right to Buy application, it was surprising it was delayed at the last minute. No reason was given.
“We were then told through a local church member that the three week extension was to enable the person who eventually got the church to finalise their bid.”
In September last year, The Old Newton Church was sold to Busan South Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, a Christian group with strong historical connections to the Church of Scotland.
But almost one year on, many in the community are deeply unhappy about the way their bid was treated. The group added: “The way this was handled was abysmal with initial lack of time, then lack of information, lack of trust, and indeed lack of honesty between the church and this community.”
What is the church's connection to Burke and Hare?
The graveyard at Old Newton Kirk has a rich history, including allegedly being targeted by accomplices of Burke and Hare - the notorious 19th century "body-snatchers" who sold stolen cadavers to medical research.
Burke and Hare sped up the supply process, through murdering various unfortunates who crossed their path.
William Burke was eventually convicted and hanged for one murder, although he and William Hare are believed to have killed up to 16 people in the Edinburgh area.
