REFUSAL of a plan to demolish Bordon’s St George’s Garrison Church and replace it with 12 homes has been hailed as a “victory for common sense” by the councillor who campaigned to save it.

East Hampshire District Council turned down the Station Road scheme – which would have included four affordable homes – because it would have meant the loss of a non-designated heritage asset, there was no effort to find an alternative community use of the building, and no offer of a Section 106 developer contribution towards infrastructure.

Whitehill & Bordon district councillor Adam Carew, a local historian, said: “This is a victory for common sense. A huge thank you to all those residents who responded to my social media post and wrote in their droves to East Hampshire District Council to save our former Garrison Church.

“I am also deeply grateful to our planners at East Hampshire for their robust refusal of this application that would have seen the demolition of this landmark building.”

Although deconsecrated, the red brick Edwardian former Garrison Church is still widely known as St George’s and is an important part of the town’s heritage.

It was built as the Royal Artillery Institute in 1906 and became a church in 1983 after the demolition of the tin tabernacle former St George’s Garrison Church in Budds Lane.

Cllr Carew said: “Very many people have fond memories of this building, and for our brave servicemen and women this was often the last place they would worship before tours of duty in places such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

“Now permission to demolish has been refused, I do hope this historic building can be repurposed, ideally as some sort of community centre.”