A £220,000 Target, a Few Weeks to Bid: Communities Say the Church of Scotland Is Selling Too Fast

• The Church of Scotland has sold 31 church and hall properties to local groups in the last three years.
• Community Land Scotland says volunteer groups need 10 to 12 months to raise funds and bid.
• Monimail Kirk in Fife was listed on January 10, 2025 with a closing date of February 7; the community raised £50,000 of a £220,000 target.
• In Sutherland, Bettyhill church was priced at £48,000 and its manse at £235,000.

As the Church of Scotland sells off buildings it can no longer afford, the communities around them say they are not being given enough time to buy. The Scotsman reported that the row over the church’s property sales is intensifying.

Shrinking congregations, rising maintenance costs and financial pressure are driving the sales. The church has sold 31 church and hall properties to local groups in the last three years, is handling more than 50 live cases where community groups have been offered exclusivity, and has received more than 100 enquiries. Community Land Scotland says groups need 10 to 12 months to raise funding and bid. Linsay Chalmers of the organisation said: “The clear issue is a lack of reasonable time for largely volunteer-based community groups.”

At Monimail Kirk in Fife, the building was listed on January 10, 2025 with a closing date of February 7. The local group raised £50,000 towards a £220,000 target. Coordinator Henry Broadhurst said: “We were somewhat desperate. We wanted a proper chance to make a proper bid.” In Bettyhill, Sutherland, the church was priced at £48,000 and the manse at £235,000, with a closing date of August 22. Local campaigners said an early estimate of six to nine months had shrunk to two or three weeks.

The church defended its approach. A spokesperson said: “It is important for the general public to understand that whilst the community may benefit from the use of a church or hall building, it is the congregation who solely bear the hefty costs.”

The tension here is familiar to anyone who has watched a church hall in a Jamaican district host basic school, wedding receptions, meetings and funerals for generations. The community treats the building as its own; the legal owner pays the bills. If congregations here ever begin disposing of halls and manses, the Scottish experience suggests setting out fair timelines for local buyers from the start. For diaspora groups interested in buying a home-district church or hall for community use, the practical lesson is to organise and raise money before a sale is announced, not after.

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