Former Birmingham church back on market after £1.1m sale falls through

A former Birmingham church is back on the market after its £1.1m sale fell through. The Maypole Methodist Church, in Kings Heath, will have a guide price of £345,000 plus when it goes under the hammer again next month.

The landmark building, on Sladepool Farm Road, dates back to the early 1960s, with some additions in the 1980s, and extends to around 4,820sq ft on a site of almost half an acre.

It had previously been sold at auction following a highly competitive bidding battle in front of BBC producers of Homes Under the Hammer in September. But the site has a restrictive covenant on the land, which means it can only be used for religious purposes.

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Auctioneers Bond Wolfe advise new interested parties to refer to the legal pack for the property for their own verification. It will be among scores of properties appearing in Bond Wolfe’s next auction.

Ian Tudor, commercial auction director at Bond Wolfe, said: “This property is unexpectedly back on the market, but on previous showing we are expecting considerable interest from bidders across the country when it goes under the hammer at our livestreamed auction.

Former Kings Heath Methodist Church set to go under the hammer but it comes with strict condition

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"We understand there is a restrictive covenant on the land prohibiting uses other than for religious purposes. These are vacant freehold church premises in an established residential neighbourhood.

“This is a spacious single storey building, with an entrance lobby, main worship hall, offices, meeting rooms, stores, accessible WC, ladies and gents WCs. The property stands on a site extending to approximately 0.475 acres including a car park to the side and rear.”

The original Sladepool Farm Road Methodist Chapel began in 1939 in a wooden school hall to serve the growing Maypole Estate. A separate, temporary chapel was opened in 1949 and the new Maypole Methodist Church built on the site in the 1960s.

The former church stands on a prominent position on the southern side of Sladepool Farm Road near its junction with the main A435 Alcester Road South, a busy arterial route linking the suburbs of Maypole, Kings Heath and Moseley with Birmingham city centre approximately five miles to the north.

Access to the Midlands Motorway network is via junction three of the M42 motorway a short distance south of the property. The Bond Wolfe auction will go ahead with registered remote bidding by proxy, telephone or internet from 8.30am on December 11.

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