THE first steps in a plan to build on a former ‘pilgrimage garden’ in the grounds of a historic vicarage have been taken.

Local people tried to preserve the pilgrimage garden in the grounds of St Cleer Vicarage when the Diocese of Truro decided to sell the Grade II listed building last year.

The Parochial Church Council argued that the gardens were a much-valued place of reflection and prayer, which had enabled hundreds of people to find God in the unexpected.

The sale of the vicarage and its garden would ’destroy 13 years of creative and imaginative outreach,’ said the PCC in an open letter to the Church Commissioners.

But the Diocese said the vicarage, as an old and expensive building, was ’unfit for purpose.’

Now Mrs S Tillot has filed for pre-application advice from Cornwall Council planners on a plan to build two detached dwellings at The Old Vicarage.

Consultation will now take place on what shape any more concrete plans could take.

The pilgrimage gardens took visitors on a journey from Creation through to Reformation through a series of interconnected sections.

Developed over 13 years, the gardens were used for celebrations, outdoor performances, school visits, workshops, and retreats.