A Bankfoot woman claims she is embroiled in a “David and Goliath battle” with the Church of Scotland following the collapse of a historic church tower.
Irene Hamilton is refusing to let contractors access her land to demolish the remains of the Auchtergaven and Moneydie Church.
The building was damaged by fire years before the tower crashed down during a storm in 2019 and is in a dangerous condition.
But Irene says workers damaged her pavements after driving lorries to and from the ruined building without permission to carry out previous repairs.
And she’s refusing to allow them back until the Church of Scotland pays for the damage.
“The only other way for them to access the tower would be to exhume the bodies in the cemetery,” she said.
While the church says it’s trying to resolve the dispute, Irene added: “This is a David and Goliath battle but I won’t let them walk all over me.”
‘It is about accountability’
Irene said: “The damage is on two of the pavements – the pavements they need to use to get to the site.
“They should have said to me ‘We would like access, is that ok?’
“I really don’t see why I should pay when they were never given permission and they did the damage.
“For the Church of Scotland to give the impression that they had the permission to access my land was wrong.
“When you have caused damage, you hold your hands up and apologise. It is plain and simple about accountability.”
She added: “It is just horrendous – it has been handled badly from start to finish.
“The way I have been treated is just underhand and appalling.”
Church ‘would like to resolve the dispute’
The Church of Scotland says it is aware of the damage and wishes to resolve the dispute.
A spokesman for the Church of Scotland General Trustees said: “For a number of years the General Trustees have had plans to demolish the ruined former Auchtergaven and Moneydie church building, which is now subject to a dangerous building notice from the local council.
“However, contractors have regrettably been unable to bring plant equipment onto the site to carry out the work due to a dispute over access.
“We are aware of the complaint about damage to a section of a footpath on a private road and we would like to resolve the dispute so we can complete the demolition.
“The General Trustees have provided Mrs Irene Hamilton with a quote to cover the repairs but have yet to receive a response from her.”
What happened to the church?
The landmark tower at the ruined Auchtergaven and Moneydie Parish Church, on the edge of Bankfoot, came crashing down in December 2019 during an early morning rain storm.
The building, which was destroyed during a fire in 2004, was at the centre of an ambitious community buy-out bid when the storm took hold.
Campaigners said they were left devastated by the collapse, which threw their restoration plans into doubt.