Dear Editor,

Your article on the Tin Church in Cambridge Avenue (Sea cadets future in balance, Mar 11) suggests that an uncommercial community organisation, the Sea Scouts, could buy the building in Kiburn and spend £230,000 on bringing it up to scratch. At current probable interest rates, even if the building was donated, the Sea Scouts would face interest repayments of £1,000 per week.

But the Genesis Housing Group, Paddington Churches Housing Association, would know all this. With their new £250m bond issue costing them a staggering 6%, they are paying interest charges of about £140,000 per day out of their tenants' rent money for building flats which they seem unable [misprinted in the newspaper as "able"] to sell, a fact that does not sit easily with their stated intention to build even more.

Why did they buy this Grade II listed building other than to knock it down and build more properties to add to their already extensive property mountain?

I personally know that the area is in urgent need of more and better community facilites, and Genesis could do worse than contribute to the community by providing some of the wherewithall to allow this project to develop and thrive.

The extra cost would have no impact on their dire financial position, and the public relations benefits would more than outweigh the cost.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Denton,

Chair, Independent Federation of Genesis Residents.

http://www.ifgr.org.uk