FEARS that the reason a vicarage is being sold off is to raise cash for the Church of England have been dismissed by diocese officials.

Plans to sell the vicarage at All Saints' Church, Northallerton, and buy another property elsewhere in the town were made public at a parochial church council (PCC) meeting in nearby Kirby Sigston last week.

PCC members said they were worried that it was a money-spinning move but communications director for the Diocese of York, Martin Sheppard, said that any money made from the sale of the vicarage would be re-invested into housing for priests.

However, members of Kirby Sigston PCC believe there is nothing wrong with the current vicarage, which lies a short distance from All Saints' Church.

PCC member Linda Chapman said: "I do not think that they should have the right to sell the vicarage because vicars have been living on that site for hundreds of years.

"It is near the church where a vicarage should be and is easy to find for people who do not know the town.

"It is in the town centre so it is handy for meetings and if people want to drop things off or call in."

The All Saints' parish includes St James' Church, in Romanby, and St Lawrence, in Kirby Sigston. It has been without a vicar since Canon Ian Fox left in April last year and diocese officials hope that having a more modern vicarage might help to attract a new vicar to the parish because the current building is not a particularly modern family home.

Mr Sheppard said: "Canon Ian Fox was a bachelor and, while the house was perfectly adequate for his needs, it would not be suitable for someone with a family.

"At the moment, we are looking for a house that is more attractive because it needs to be a house that is not going to put a vicar off."

The present house was built in the grounds of the old vicarage in 1950.

If an alternative property cannot be found in Northallerton, the diocese will consider extending the vicarage.