By JOHN GEOGHEGAN
- Lane to become dead end and church to lose old wall
- Yew hedge to be grown to hide airport security fence
SOUTHEND Airport has revealed detailed plans for work taking place near a listed church in preparation for the extension of the runway.
About 38m of the late-Victorian wall around the medieval church of St Laurence and All Saints Church will be removed and replaced with a yew hedge, to allow for the expanded airport field.
There will be no changes made to the church itself, though it was feared the Grade I-listed building, parts of which date back to the 12th century, may have to be demolished or moved.
The wall would be rebuilt to the west of the churchyard and the airport will also resurface the 19-space church car park as well as landscape the area around it.
The plans, which must be approved by Southend Council, are part of the much larger application to extend the airport’s runway, which was given the go-ahead by the Government in April [March].
As part of the agreement, a section of Eastwoodbury Lane running alongside the church will be diverted.
Plans show a turning area for cars outside the church, before the road reaches a dead end. A wooden gate will be erected by the mini roundabout.
St Laurence church warden Paul McPherson said: “The planning application will include reorganisation of the road outside the church main entrance. We are aware of it and we don’t object to it.”
Mr McPherson said the church would have the keys to the wooden gate and control who comes in, to allow for wedding cars and hearses to pull up near the church.
The airport field will have a 3m-high security perimeter fence, which will be behind the yew hedge. The council hopes to make a decision by August 24.
This report is misleading. The whole point of the airport’s new runway extension proposals was that they didn’t include demolition of the church, which was the reason the previous planning application was rejected in 2005.
Therefore, presenting this story as “Good news – the church is being left alone!” is disingenuous.
No mention is made of the fact that the church is still going to be in the Instrument Strip and constitutes an infringement to the safety regulations – which is why the proposal that it was demolished was made. It would appear that the airport has received an assurance that the CAA will make an exception to the regulations (putting at risk the people who use the church or the airport) to allow the church to remain.