Villagers say they have been “betrayed” by the church after a group of Methodists watched as the community raised £70,000 to buy their cherished hall – before turning their backs at the final hurdle.

When the Christian group agreed to sell off Champion Hall to the residents of Painters Forstal, the parish rejoiced and set about raising the cash.

But as they hit their target and understood they were on their way to sealing the deal, the Methodists pulled out of the agreement and announced they would be selling the property on the open market for £120,000 instead.

Time, effort and a staggering amount of money has been poured into business plans, consultations and surveys which the Village Amenities Committee passionately believed would lead them to securing the future of the hall.

Letters released exclusively to the Faversham News addressed to the committee from officials of the Canterbury and East Kent Methodist Circuit say: “We recognise the value the chapel is to the local community and I am happy to confirm that the committee are our preferred purchasers.”

“It was agreed that we should sell the property at the Strutt and Parker valuation of £70,000.”

“We will give notice to Swale Borough Council of the fact that we will not be seeking to sell the property apart from to the community.”

Villagers were given until June 30 this year to raise the money and successfully hit the deadline.

Chairman of the committee and the parish council Andrew Keel said: “The Methodists had known we wanted to take control of it and that we seemed to be on the same track. They said that they too wanted it to remain in the community.

“We fundraised and applied for funding via a Public Works Loan Body loan.

“There were hoops to jump through but we did so and we were ready to push the button and get the money within the time they had given us.

“We kept our side of the bargain. Then they came to a meeting and told us they were pulling the rug from beneath us.”

The Champion Hall, also known as the Whitehill Methodist Chapel, has been at the heart of the village since the 19th century.

A true community hub, it has offered everything from foster carer support groups and youth clubs to summer and Christmas fairs, fetes and harvest festivals.

Recently, people had been queuing out of the door to attend an opera concert but, most importantly, it has offered a social lifeline to the elderly and vulnerable in the village many of whom struggle to make the trip into Faversham.

If the sale had gone ahead, Mr Keel and vice chairman of the committee Brian Flynn say they had big plans to further improve the hall and offer even more services.

They were hoping to set up a village shop, regular health visitor clinics and even a cinema club.

Mr Flynn said: “The Methodists have betrayed the community purely to get their 30 pieces of silver.

“The very people they profess to care about, the young, the elderly and the vulnerable have been ditched, they have been abandoned.

“The Methodists have broken their promise to the community. It is very un-Christian.

“You think when you’re dealing with a Christian organisation they would keep their promises and stick to their word.

“They should feel ashamed of themselves.”

The Rev Geoffrey Boxer said there was never a “guarantee” that they would sell to the community.

"The very people they profess to care about, the young, the elderly and the vulnerable have been ditched, they have been abandoned" - Brian Flynn

He told the Faversham News: “While the parish council were our preferred buyer and we are saddened they are unable to continue with the purchase, they were aware that this was never guaranteed
and subject to a number of conditions.

“Methodist churches are owned by the trust for Methodist Church Purposes in Manchester, which itself must comply with UK charity law.

“After six months had elapsed we were obliged by the trust to seek a new evaluation and re-offer the building for sale taking into account this most recent valuation.”

The committee is now hoping a local benefactor may come forward to buy the hall for the community and in the worst-case scenario, they say they will fight any application to change it for residential use.

But for now they say they remain “left in the cold”, fearing they may lose their beloved village hall forever.