PROCEEDS from the sale of a former village church will not go directly back to the village, church commissioners have confirmed.

Rookhope Parish Church in Weardale was closed earlier this year due to falling demand and the high cost of renovating the building.

Weardale county councillor and Rookhope resident, John Shuttleworth, pointed out that the church was paid for by local people and by right belongs to them, not the church commissioners.

“The people of Rookhope raised the money for the erection of the church and the Freemasons made a donation in the early 1900s," he said.

“The church commissioners have no right whatsoever to the money as far as I am concerned.

“I have already written to the church commissioners and although I have had an acknowledgement I am still waiting for a reply.

“I will take this further if I have to go down that route, the people of Rookhope are entitled to that money and they will back me up on that.

“It should be used to benefit the village and the people of the village, for the community.”

A church commissioner’s spokeswoman said the closure and subsequent disposal of Anglican churches is governed by the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011. Church of England Measures have the same force as an Act of Parliament.

She said: “In accordance with the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011, two thirds of the net proceeds from the sale of the church will be paid back to the diocese, in this case Durham, to sustain the mission and ministry of the Church across their area.

“The remaining one third will either be used to meet the Church’s share of funding for the Churches Conservation Trust, who cares for 341 historically important unused churches in England, or to support the care of closed churches which have yet to find a new use.”

The plans to turn the former church into houses have raised concerns among residents and will be discussed at a public consultation session at Rookhope’s village hall on Monday, November 3, between 2.30pm and 7pm.

Staff of the commissioners and diocese will be on hand to talk through proposals for the future of the church.

For more information, visit www.churchofengland.org/clergy-office-holders/pastoralandclosedchurches/consultation/expiry-date-21-november-2014.aspx