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News detail What you think about ...Development plan for St George’s Church Plans to demolish a local landmark that has stood in Brentford for centuries have been met with outrage by local residents. The former St George's Church on the High Street was last used as a place of worship in 1959 and is currently the sight of the Musical Museum, housing hundreds of instruments for visitors to admire. The museum originally took residency on a temporary basis in 1963 and, over 40 years later, is now preparing to move to new premises on the other side of the neighbouring Capital West development. The museum closed in 2002 to prepare for the move and is now only open to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Developers have applied for planning permission to build 17 flats on the site of the former church, sparking fears that former burial sites may be disturbed during demolition work. Many locals are also worried that the east end of Brentford will lose a much loved landmark should the plans go ahead. The Times visited Brentford to find out if shoppers were in tune with the developers' plans. Mrs Butler, a Brentford resident, thought the building was badly sited: "Nobody uses it as a church. The museum is quite out of the way, wedged in between the hotel and another building. I don't think many people go there unless they are dedicated to musical instruments." However, she did not approve of all the regeneration building work going on in Brentford: "It's ridiculous building all these new flats, they are an eye sore. They build all these houses, encouraging people into the area, and yet Brentford has nothing to offer. We could do with more decent shops. The shops we have got aren't real shops, they are all things like estate agents." James Stanley Stretch has only recently moved to the area but believes the church should remain standing: "The way I look at things is that this is a church and should not be destroyed. If it is being used as musical museum then it should stay as a musical museum." Mr Ilbury, aged 73, was born and raised in Brentford. He has a long standing connection with St George's: "I was baptised in that church and both my father and myself were in the choir. I won't go into it now, they confiscated it when they turned it into a museum. I want to remember it as it was, but I certainly don't think they should pull it down." Dolly Fowler was out shopping with her young daughter when the Times spoke to her. She thought the demolition would be a great loss of a community resource: "It's horrible. I have taken the children to the museum and it was lovely. "It's the only bit of old Brentford left down that end and it would be a shame to lose it." Source: Brentford Chiswick & Isleworth Times
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