RAISING THE ROOF

14-12-2009

Moseley’s iconic St Mary’s church could soon be graced by an energy saving solar roof – but they’re facing opposition from conservation groups who want a precious slice of Victoriana maintained in its traditional style. Sibyl Ruth reports on an unholy row.

Good news should be shouted from the rooftops.

Last month the sustainability group SusMo – who are based in B13 - scooped the West Midlands regional title in the British Gas ‘Green Streets' competition.

A key part of the scheme involves St Mary’s Church ‘seeking planning permission for the installation of a roof mounted photovoltaic system to generate its electricity, most of which would be fed back into the grid, generating income.’

Permission is necessary before solar energy panels can be put in, because St Mary’s is a Grade II listed building situated within Moseley Conservation Area.

Their application will be considered this coming Wednesday by a Planning Officer at the City Council

However, not quite everyone has been cheering SusMo’s success. The Victorian Society are objecting on the grounds that the panels would be ‘highly damaging to the character and appearance’ of the Church and the Area.

This is puzzling because the application sticks to English Heritage’s own guidelines on installing this sort of system. At street level the roof panels will be out of sight. So where would you have to go to be offended by these ‘highly damaging’ panels?

Somebody on the upper storeys of St Mary’s Row – opposite the church - might notice changes to the roof. But these floors are used chiefly for storage by the local traders. It doesn’t seem likely that cardboard boxes will care....

Then there are folk on the top deck of the Number 1 route. If my bus experiences are typical, the upper floor will be occupied by people who are stoned, or shrieking, or telling their mobile phones ‘I’m on the bus.’ It seems improbable that they’ll be worried.

Of course if you stand on the - slightly higher - Oxford Rd in midwinter, when no trees are in leaf, you might be able to glimpse the panels. (Though chances are your attention will be distracted by the ugliness of the old Meteor Ford site.)

Even if a person in any of these places did spot any difference, the panels are to be an unobtrusive dark blue. They will - quite literally - keep a low profile.

The Victorian Society seems to be arguing we don’t have the right to adapt buildings in accordance with current values. It’s our duty to preserve them, exactly as they were, for future generations.

Now the Society has done fine work around the city centre. For example they campaigned to save the former Oozells St School – which now houses the Ikon Gallery.

But I think they’ve got this one wrong. They would like to ‘freeze’ St Mary’s at a particular point in time. Round about 1876. It’s as if the church should exist inside a case in a museum. With a fierce attendant to say ‘Hands off!’ whenever someone steps too near.

If you’re a heritage hard-liner, it doesn’t matter that St Mary’s Vicar and congregation want the building to be more energy-efficient.

Often those who’d like us not to change the past, forget that history is full of change. St Mary’s Church started in the fifteenth century, but has sixteenth and eighteenth century additions. By 1780 it had fallen into such disrepair that services could no longer be held. It was then rebuilt in a neo-classical style. Only during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, architects got rid of all these classical features, extending and ‘Gothicising’ the church.

Churches are like mirrors. They are important because – inside and out – they are places which reflect our evolving beliefs.

More and more of us believe society has to change. It’s no longer enough just to guard what’s old, keeping things as they used to be. We need to generate and use energy more efficiently. Otherwise our children may be struggling for survival, unable to look after the past at all....

If you would like to support the plan to install photovoltaic panels at St Mary’s Church, please send your messages to planning.enquires@birmingham.gov.uk before Wed 16 December.

More comments on this are welcome - not least from the Victorian Society and/or English Heritage. Just contact editor@thestirrer.com

DISCUSS THIS ON THE STIRRER FORUM