NO decision has been taken to close Tavistock?s Roman Catholic Church following interest expressed by a property developer, it has been confirmed this week. It had been rumoured that the offer had been accepted by the Plymouth Diocesan but this was denied by the communications officer Michael Fay, who said Roman Catholic churches nationally were undergoing a review. Mr Fay said the future of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Callington Road was being looked at, along with many other churches, including St Joseph?s in Gunnislake. ?No decisions have been reached ? it is very early days,? he said. ?A property developer has expressed an interest in the church but we are taking consultation across the diocese.? Mr Fay said it was a question of making the best use of resources and at the same time meeting the needs of the congregation. If the situation went ahead with the property developer he said it was possible that there would be a new church built and a temporary venue set up in the meantime. The Grade II listed church in Callington Road, originally named ?Fitzford Church? was built by the Duke of Bedford in 1867. It was designed to hold a congregation of 650 and was intended for the miners who had flooded into the town and increased the population. The mining industry declined shortly after and the congregation dropped. The church was purchased by the Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, through the generosity of a benefactor Mrs Reginald Rye, in memory of her husband who died in 1945. Tavistock priest Father Denis O? Gorman said the church was huge and very costly to keep going: ?We have 70 to 100 people in the congregation on a Sunday which is not very good for a town of this size, but many people go to Yelverton because it has better car parking.? He said the church could not be closed without permission from the Historic Churches Trust and English Heritage.