Preserving Birch Church -  Three Years On!

Birch InSpire (external link) (opens in new tab)is delighted to celebrate the third anniversary of its campaign to save the spectacular iconic local landmark, The Church of St Peter and St Paul in Birch (Birch Church), from imminent demolition!

SOS Save Our Spire was initially formed in August 2023 when Birch Church was just weeks away from demolition. Within days, a working committee was formed to try to get a stay of execution on the demolition, together with a dialogue with Chelmsford Diocese. Priti Patel came to visit and support the campaign and the local community was immediately surveyed, with 88% of respondents supporting saving the church, minimally the spire. A silent protest was held which attracted over 250 people, and which gained front page coverage in local newspapers and featured on both BBC and ITV television news.

It soon became apparent that a group of business professionals would be needed to take the project forward to a viable plan to finance the maintenance of any part of the building which could be saved. Following a public meeting in February 2024, Birch InSpire was formed and became an officially registered charity in July 2025.

A further local consultation was undertaken in December 2024 where again 88% of respondents voted in favour of keeping the church, minimally the spire. Local people also identified that they wanted a local heritage café and small shop, together with some rentable space. The vision to create ‘a café with a soul’ in the chancel of the church was born out of this consultation. It is also hoped that additional parts of the church will be saved. Following this, at the end of 2025, initial approaches were made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). NLHF and Birch InSpire continue to be in positive discussion.

After the submission of a business plan to Chelmsford Diocese in February of this year, the diocese offered to match fund £300,000 of the project (about 10% of the overall cost) if Birch InSpire is successful in their attempts to gain around £3m in funding from NLHF. Both Historic England and The Victorian Society are now also supporting the work of Birch InSpire, having reversed their previous positions on Birch Church.

Birch InSpire are currently working with fund raising consultants to apply for a smaller ‘phase 1’ grant from NLHF in order to pay for essential smaller condition reports and feasibility studies which will be needed ahead of the larger NLHF grant fund application.

The Chair of Birch InSpire, Loess Overbury-Tapper, has said “Against seemingly impossible odds at the start, we are absolutely delighted to have got this far in saving our beautiful church from demolition. We look forward to providing a stunning heritage venue, not just for communities in Birch but also to those in Colchester and the surrounding villages. Birch Church is just a 45 minute walk from Gosbecks car park in Colchester and just a few hundred meters from Route 1 on the UK National Cycle Network. We can’t wait to welcome everyone into our ‘café with a soul’. We continue to work to preserve the past, enrich the present and inspire the future.”

More information and regular updates on this project can be found on www.birchinspire.com (external link) (opens in new tab)