Church to increase security to cut vandalism

The upgrades follow a number of incidents of theft and vandalism at the church in Bradford

A church in Bradford has been given permission to increase its security after several incidents of theft and vandalism.

St Stephen's Church, on Donisthorpe Street, West Bowling, dates back to the 1850s and was given a Grade II listing in 1983.

Bradford Council has approved both a planning application and listed building consent for the work, which includes new CCTV cameras, a security gate and improved lighting to "deter intruders".

The planning application said the measures were needed to secure the future of the church and its heritage features, including its stained glass windows.

It said: "In recent years the church building has been subject to various forms of vandalism and theft, including damage of the historic stained glass windows, break-ins, the theft of lead from the roof and removal of stone slabs.

"With support from grant funding bodies, the church continues to implement several preventative measures to alleviate further incidents."

Council conservation officer Jon Ackroyd described the church as an "important community facility", the Local Democracy Service reported.

"A number of external lights and nine external CCTV cameras are proposed," he said.

"These will add a degree of clutter to the external facades of the building, but it is concluded that this is necessary to deter vandalism and detrimental activity in relation to the operation and fabric of the building."

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