Ballarat Anglican bishop Gary Weatherill said the diocese believed the multi-million dollar price tag put on the site by the Uniting Church was too high.

On sale for almost four years, the church no longer hosts services and remains in a dire condition. The site went to auction in 2013, but was passed in at $2.5 million. 

It was previously hoped St Andrew’s Kirk could get back on its feet, with the Anglican Diocese of Ballarat seriously considering buying the site from the Uniting Church last year. 

It followed a decision by the Anglican Diocese of Ballarat to put the Anglican cathedral on Lydiard Street on the market for $3 million in May last year. 

"We’ve done our due diligence with the Uniting Church who believe it is worth more money than we are prepared to pay so at present things are stalemate,” Bishop Weatherill said.

Bishop Weatherill said he was unable to comment on the asking price of the church due to commercial in confidence.

Chairman of the Christ Church St Andrew’s Project Andrew Greenwood said a task group had been working on the proposal for the last fifteen months.

The group was tasked with examining the opportunities and difficulties associated with a Sturt Street relocation of the Anglican diocese. 

“The group has concluded that the opportunities created by a move to St Andrew’s are significant,” Mr Greenwood said. “The task group has examined all the issues associated with the St Andrew’s site and following extensive research of the engineering, heritage, planning and environment issues, believes the cost of overcoming these issues must be reflected in a lower price than the Uniting Church is seeking.”

Mr Greenwood said prospects of a fund-raising appeal were also investigated. 

“This investigation revealed that there was a high level of support for the retention of St Andrew’s as a church, although significantly less interest in providing the funds to do this,” he said.

The Courier understands negotiations Uniting Church’s negotiations with other parties interested in the site are ongoing.

 Uniting Church western region administrator Reverend David Thompson could not be reached for comment before The Courier went to print.