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A derelict church is to be knocked down as planned – despite rumours its demolition is being held up by bats.

Earlier this year, Sunderland City Council lodged an application with its own planning department for the distinctive former St Cuthbert’s Methodist Church on the junction of Western Hill and Shaftesbury Avenue in Ryhope.

Six bungalows with associated “staff hubs”, parking and landscaping are planned to replace the church at the site.

A design and access statement, submitted on behalf of the council, says the church is “dilapidated”. St Cuthbert’s was built in 1964, but is now in a “poor condition and had been unused for a number of years” according to the report.

False rumours have circulated that the demolition of St Cuthbert's is being held up by bats. Image, Sunderland Echo.

Ryhope residents contacted the Echo to establish any truth in rumours, circulating around the village as well as on social media, that the presence of bats was making demolition legally impossible.

It is illegal to demolish any building where bats are living. All 18 species of bats in England and Wales are protected by law. The animals have been declared an endangered species and a European Protected Species.

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However, the council says that there is no truth in the rumour and that zero bats have been found at the church.

St Cuthbert’s is in a “poor condition and had been unused for a number of years” according to the report. Image, Sunderland Echo.

A Sunderland City Council statement to the Echo said: “The acquisition of the former Methodist church and land surrounding it is advancing through legals and it is expected that demolition will commence later in the year. There are no known issues with bats in the building.”

Bat rumours surrounding Sunderland church are ‘untrue’, says council