CHURCH bosses are spending £650,000 on a dream home for a bishop after his mansion was demolished. Neighbours of Bishop Joseph Devine were stunned when his £300,000 Victorian home in Hamilton was flattened because of damp.
In its place, Catholic church bosses have ordered a stunning new house...complete with a private chapel.
The Bishop of Motherwell, 71, told parishioners about his dream pad in a newsletter.
One shocked church member said: "It was a beautiful old house in its own grounds but nothing remains of it.
"The church is saying the cost of fixing the damp and other problems would be more than s650,000.
"If the house was in such a serious state of disrepair, what has he been doing all these years living in it? Severe damp causes smells, paint peeling, black spots and fungi.
"Has he been sitting all this time lost in prayer and oblivious to this?"
Each bedroom in the luxury house will have an en suite and there will be three separate living areas - one for him with his own chapel, one for his housekeeper and one for visitors.
The empty plot is surrounded by security fencing and the house is due to be completed by summer.
Three years ago the outspoken clergyman was criticised for using church money on a firework display at the Carfin Pilgrimage Centre in Lanarkshire.
And eight years ago the Sunday Mail revealed Devine had undergone a nose operation using insurance paid for by his parishioners.
Church bosses defended the s2000 private op but didn't say if it was for medical or cosmetic reasons.
Before moving to his home, Devine considered buying a luxury villa with a pool and Jacuzzi.
The Church said: "The building costs budget for the new house will be s650,000.
"After an extensive professional survey of the old property, the Bishop was advised his home was unsafe.
"There was serious and extensive dampness throughout the house and significant structural faults were identified. The electrics had also become a fire hazard.
"It was recommended the property be demolished because of the high costs that would be incurred in undertaking the repairs and refurbishment."
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(Source: SMC)