Twenty-six concerned Southampton residents have objected to plans to demolish a 70-year-old church building to make room for four apartments.

On March 11, St. Anne?s Church applied for in-principle planning permission to change the use of a social institutional building to a new two dwelling unit on No. 42, Horseshoe Road.

But resident Raymond Todd said yesterday ?Demolishing the church is not going to help this neighbourhood move forward?.

The old mission and community centre is known as St. Andrew?s church, and is owned by nearby St. Anne?s Church.

Mr. Todd said it would be better for the community to restore St. Andrews Church as a community centre to ?try and save some of the youth?.

Loud profanities are often heard in the neighbourhood coming from Horseshoe Road youth, he said.

?Then you hear a bottle breaking, next there?s a fight and an ambulance and Police arrive,? he said. ?There have been a couple of murders up here as well. It?s a bad influence for the younger ones.?

?It does not have to be knocked down,? he said. ?It could be used as a recreation centre and other things for the youngsters.?

Mr. Todd said St. Andrew?s Church was important to members of the Horseshoe Road community.

?Times ago, most of the people who were active in the church were black people because they were not allowed in the bigger churches,? he said.

He said people went to St. Andrew?s because they were not allowed to sing in the choir, give collection or sit in the front pews of other churches 70 years ago.

A number of members of the church were musically gifted, he said, and many went on to Bermuda Regiment Band. ?The little church is also a community church,? he said, adding they once had a number of bazaars and bake-sales.

He said many people in the community still had fond memories of the community-spirit created by the church.

Fred Hassell said yesterday he ran a community centre in St. Anne?s for yearly two decades, however, the centre did not work out and was closed down some time ago.

Mr. Todd said he and several others belonging to the church signed a petition when they saw the application in a newspaper.

?Since then they have brought a container and parked it in the yard,? he said. ?It looks like they are getting ready to go ahead with it.?

He said dozens of people had contacted him wondering if it was too late to object.

However, Mr. Todd sent his objection into the Department of Planning with two days to spare.

?If I had more time I could have got more,? he said. ?Maybe 100 or 200.?

On January 31, churchwarden Kirk Davis authorised developers CTX to submit plans in connection with St. Anne?s Church.

Then on March 9, Jacob Hocking of CTX said ?a maximum of four units is proposed, which meets the regulations for apartment house development on a lot this size with a Residential one zoning.?

But on April 4 the petitioners wrote: ?We feel the building should remain as a church that can better serve the community?.

On April 21, Planning wrote to Mr. Hocking telling him to respond to the objection in 14 days.

Yesterday, Mr. Hocking said ?a lack of neighbourhood support led to the closing of the church?.

??If the community had supported it some time ago we would not be in this situation now,? he said.