THE disused original Victorian St Joseph's church at Purewell has been saved from demolition following a four-day planning appeal hearing last month.

But the town's Catholic community is still rejoicing after government planning inspector Gyllian Grindey sanctioned sacrificing the adjoining presbytery to make way for a parish centre church hall extension to the new St Joseph's church built in 1992.

Plans by the Portsmouth Roman Catholic diocese to demolish the buildings - both unlisted but within the Purewell conservation area - were first rejected by planning councillors in December 2003.

Then a revised scheme retaining the 140-year-old chapel was also thrown out earlier this year.

As well as wishing to save the historic buildings, members of the council's planning control committee also ruled that proposed landscaping to the frontage of the site, including iron railing and a mock lych gate, would spoil the street scene and open up views of the modern new church at the rear of the site.

But after hearing expert evidence and visiting the site herself, Ms Grindey ruled: "The presbytery simply cannot be described as a landmark building."

And she concluded the proposed changes to the frontage would bring positive benefits including the re-use of the derelict former Shirvell's bakery premises as a replacement priest's house and church offices.

Ms Grindey was also sympathetic to the case for demolishing the old church which she described as "shabby, forlorn and unmaintained".

She added: "It does little for the general ambience of the conservation area."

While she accepted the church building, needing around £160,000 to bring it into good repair, was unlikely to be sold or re-used by the church, Ms Grindey decided it should be "mothballed" rather than demolished.

Parish priest Father John Lee said: "We are delighted with the news.

"I think the decision was a just one. What we have sought to do all the way through the process was to appeal for a degree of reasonableness."

"Early in the New Year we will be meeting to work out our next step."