Re: 鈥�1926 church in Fairfield to be demolished for suites,鈥� March 16.
We want to express our disappointment in learning about the demolition of the Fairfield United Church.
The National Trust for sa国际传媒, an organization that advocates for heritage conservation across sa国际传媒, estimates that 9,000 religious spaces in sa国际传媒 will be lost in the next decade, roughly a third of all faith-owned buildings in the country.
Religious places are not important just because they are old, but because of what they mean to a community.
They are spaces for gatherings of faith, community meetings, education, weddings, funerals, music lessons and social programs.
This is also a loss to Victoria鈥檚 distinct environment of heritage buildings. Victoria has an exceptional heritage-conservation program that distinguishes the city across sa国际传媒. Yet, when the protections of a register or designation are not put into place, the system fails and unique, never-to-be-replaced buildings are lost.
We advocate that the City of Victoria, with the support of the Heritage Advisory Panel, use all available planning tools to identify, protect and conserve historic places throughout the community. Continue to develop the city, but be aware of what makes Victoria so special.
Gord Macdonald, chair
Paul Gravett, executive director Heritage sa国际传媒
