Uniting Church: Elanora Heights property to be sold

The property and conference centre at 19A Wesley Street has been hired out by businesses, schools, sports and community groups, and it can accommodate up to 200 people.

The sale means five permanent staff and some casuals may lose their jobs. The Northern Beaches Review understands Uniting Church's priority was to inform staff before the property is formally listed for sale.

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The 5.184 hectare block is zoned SP2 Infrastructure, which means once it is sold the property could be used for a range of purposes, including: medium density residential, light industrial, business park, tourism, public recreation, and environmental conservation.

A spokesman for the Uniting Church (NSW and ACT) said the decision to sell was made due to an "extremely difficult period" for its conference venues, and the impacts of the COVID pandemic had been "extremely harsh" on the hospitality sector.

He declined to confirm if any other church-owned properties in the northern beaches were being considered for sale in the future.

"The Uniting Church holds many properties and whenever there is a decision to sell a property we are very aware of the impact this has on people, including our staff, and we do not take such decisions lightly," he said.

"We are doing everything we can to support our employees who will be impacted by this sale.

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"At this time we are not announcing any more sales as at the present our focus is on the support of staff."

The NBR understands staff impacted by the sell-off may be offered positions at other sites.

The spokesman also declined to confirm what the proceeds of the sale would be used for. "The allocation of the proceeds from the sale will be determined at a future point," he said.

The Moderator of The Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT, Reverend Simon Hansford said "we want to acknowledge that this will be a very difficult time for some of our valued employees, who have done wonderful work over the years at these venues".

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No new bookings are being taken at the Elanora site, and prior bookings until June are being honoured.

The Elanora Conference Centre has been operated by the Methodist Church since the late 1940s. As part of the union of Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian denominations, it was commissioned into service just a few weeks before the inauguration of the union of said denominations to become The Uniting Church in Australia in 1977.

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