Church in Wales threatens to evict Christian-led charity

A Christian-led charity faces eviction after clashing with the Church in Wales (CiW) over the use of their building.

In 2020, The Parish Trust charity started using the St Thomas Church building in Caerphilly as a base, for free rental, with the full knowledge and blessing of the CiW and local bishop. The Trust claims that for the next three years they were led to believe the CiW would sell the building to them. However, in May 2023 lawyers for the CiW requested they either accept a tenancy agreement or vacate the premises.

The Parish Trust began during the pandemic, aiming to meet the needs of the local community. Due to quick growth, they resolved to buy the St Thomas Church building to make it their permanent base, and were advised that the first step was to formerly petition Bishop Cherry Van to make the church redundant. They requested this in August 2020.