St Mungo’s Church, in the heritage precinct, has been listed for sale due to it being no longer needed for worship.
Alexandra-Clyde-Lauder Union Presbyterian parish minister Andrew Howley said, in a statement, declining church attendance and the cost of maintaining the buildings meant it was time for it to be passed on to new owners.
The parish held services at St Enoch’s Church in Alexandra, which was about 10 minutes’ drive from Clyde.
At St Mungo’s 125th celebrations in 2019, Mr Howley said buildings were not the most important thing for people’s faith.
"Faith started before the building was here. The building’s important, but faith is more important. There will always be faith outside of these walls," he said at the time.
Multi-denominational worship began in Clyde during the gold rush. Services started in the 1860s in a room at the early Clyde School, which welcomed Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic worshippers.
The Presbyterian St Mungo’s Church was built in 1894.
At the 2019 celebrations, Mr Howley said both Presbyterian churches needed earthquake strengthening.
Situated in Sunderland St, the church was on a 1619sq m corner site with two separate freehold titles zoned low-density residential within the heritage precinct of the Central Otago operative district plan.
According to the district plan, low-density residential zones contain predominantly low-rise and detached residential homes with a "good level of openness around the buildings", well-designed and well-connected into the surrounding area.
In October last year, permission was granted for a developer to build six two-storey townhouses on a site partially within the Clyde Heritage Precinct.
At the Central Otago District Council hearing panel for the application, Clyde resident Peter Henderson warned consent would set a "dangerous precedent" for the town and heritage precinct.
"If this proposal is approved ... you will not be able to shut the gate.
"The uniqueness of Clyde that attracts tens of thousands of tourists a year, and their money, will be destroyed forever," Mr Henderson said.
Colliers Brokers’ Mark Simpson, who was selling the property, said while the building could be restored, it was more likely the land would be redeveloped.
