St Peters Church in Toorak, Victoria, has received a council permit to build a retirement village to fund the repairs of the church.

The retirement village will contain 38 independent living units with 117 car spaces along with a new parish centre at their Dalriada Street site.

This proposal will come at the cost of losing the St Peters Toorak Tennis Club where tenants have been asked to evacuate by 31 December 2013.

Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne spokesman, James O’Farrell, said with the church is in desperate need of restoration with estimated repair costs of up to $4.5million.

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