St Peter’s Church is a focal point of a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is visited by thousands of tourists each year.

The oldest Anglican church in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere, it has undergone many repairs over the centuries, all carried out in a manner befitting a world famous landmark.

But what of the church hall that stands next to it?

How many times have you walked past the St George’s building, looking, but never really seeing.

The announcement by the Department of Planning regarding new guidelines for renovating historic buildings got one St George’s resident to take a closer look, and he was quite surprised by what he saw.

Where he assumed there were windows, there was paint, and what he thought was a wooden balcony, was actually PVC installations.

“Is this what the guidelines mean, that you can be permitted to paint a fake window on a wall and use PVC for a flooring on a building of such significance because some people won’t notice it?” Mr Bean wrote in a letter to The Royal Gazette.

“The floor of the hanging balconies over the lower entrance and on the roadside are made of PVC and the round windows above the main entrance and at the rear of the hall above the cycle park are fake and have been painted on the wall.

“Most people will not notice this, not even after all these years of official ceremonies that have been held at this most visited place.”

However, a Department of Planning spokesperson said that the church hall is not in violation of the new guidelines, because the upper floor was not considered historic.

“The upper level of Claire Spencer Hall at St Peter’s Church is not historic,” said the spokesperson, explaining that the additional floor was added in the 1980s “to a historic single storey structure before any listed buildings, historic protection areas and the World Heritage site were designated.”

Beyond that, the guidelines cannot be enforced retroactively, said the spokesperson.

“Government’s assessment of potential listed buildings began in 1992, but the official list was not Gazetted until 2002,” the spokesperson said.

“The new Guidance Note for Windows, Shutters, and Doors is meant to inform the public on both the issues related for Listed Buildings, Historic Protection Areas, and the World Heritage Site, but also provide options for consideration.

“Should the St Peter’s Church or any other building in St George’s wish to undertake renovations in the near future, then the guidelines will be of assistance.”