PLANS to make alterations to a Dunoon church spire and finial after storm damage have been lodged with council officials.
The spire on the southeast corner of St John’s Church, on Argyll Street, sustained “significant damage” during Storm Eowyn in January 2025.
Cowal Kirk has now applied to Argyll and Bute Council for listed building consent to carry out works on the spire, including the removal of a large steel cross, to be replaced with a traditional lead ball and spike finial.
Council officials are expected to rule on the application by mid-December, with the public now able to view the plans and submit feedback.
In a design statement, planning agents ARPL Architects said: “The church spire on the southeast corner of the building suffered some significant damage during Storm Eowyn when 90mph winds raged across Ireland and Scotland on a red weather warning with much structural damage caused across the country.
“The damage to the roof slate-work and church spire caused a small, localised fall of stone and the church arranged a full high-level inspection by steeplejacks.
“The very top of the spire was found to have suffered wind forced movement of the large steel cross finial which cracked the mortar and fractured small carved top stones of the spire.
“A temporary stainless steel staple repair was carried out to secure existing stonework but assessment of the original carved crown stone was considered to still be at risk with movement of the finial cross, which is a late 20th century replacement of a traditional metal finial, as the condition of the cross tee fixing of the finial rod cannot be inspected due to the very restricted and high location within the tall narrow spire.
“The only way to access the cross-tee is to dismantle the top five or six courses of the spire stonework, which would also allow for the replacement of the broken stone with a new carved indent as a permanent repair.”
The statement added: “The stonework repair is proposed to be carried out on a like-for-like basis with stone and mortar to match existing local grey-blonde sandstone as a high-quality conservation repair, and the cross-tee repair would be a concealed engineered repair.
“As part of the assessment of the risks the removal of the large steel cross has been recommended, as it is of a crude design and large for the extent of exposure to high winds.
“The church authorities and kirk session are in agreement to this and it is proposed to replace this with a smaller traditional lead ball and spike finial, similar to others that are on the lower tower roofs on the northwest and southwest corners of the building.
“There would be less movement on the finial rod and cross-tee and further risk of stone damage reduced. As this is an external detail with material change, it is understood that ecclesiastical exemption from planning and listed building consent will not apply and hence the formal submission for consent.”
To view the plans and submit feedback, visit the council’s planning portal at argyll-bute.gov.uk and use the reference number 26/01898/LIB.
