CHURCHGOERS will today request that a burial site and parish hall are excluded from any possible development deal.

Members of the congregation at St Thomas' RC Church, Wolsingham, met at the weekend to discuss a proposal that the parish hall, an orchard set aside for a cemetery extension and the church presbytery, be sold for development.

After a lengthy meeting, the congregation decided that if a deal was done to get rid of any property, then the presbytery and the disused land to the west of the church should go.

Their views will be put to diocesan trustees at a finance meeting today, attended by the retiring Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, the Right Reverend Ambrose Griffiths.

Leo Gooch, a member of the congregation, has drafted a letter requesting that the burial site and parish hall are protected.

He said: "The parish hall is used by the local community generally and it is not possible to exaggerate its importance.

"For many reasons the disabled, the elderly, the young and other groups find the premises suitable for their needs.

"Without overstating the case, the closure of the hall would bring a number of community groups to an end."