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[News Thetan]

SCIENTOLOGY CHURCH FOR LANDMARK HOTEL - The Herald
2 June 2010, 10:01 am

DEVONPORT'S iconic Royal Fleet Hotel has been sold to the Church of Scientology.

The Herald has learned agents representing the hotel's owner — Midlands-based businessman Kailash Suri — completed the sale of the historic building on Friday. Last month, Mr Suri announced the hotel was set to close, 18 months after he bought it promising a multi-million-pound makeover.

He claimed the Morice Square building was losing money "drastically".

But yesterday, Mr Suri, the Church of Scientology and property consultants King Sturge confirmed the building has been sold for a figure of about £1million.

Mr Suri reportedly bought the property for just under £1.5million in December 2008.

Marianne Rowell, spokesman for the Church of Scientology, said: "The contracts have been exchanged and we have completed the purchase of the building.

"It is still functioning as a hotel at the moment. Functions are continuing until June 22 when we take it on.

"We will then put in a planning application and fundraise to refurbish the building."

Scientologists have been searching for properties in Plymouth for the past three years with the view to opening a "bold" and "prominent" new church.

The current Church of Scientology in Ebrington Street is deemed as being "too small" for the needs of its followers. It has about 3,000 to 5,000 sq ft of floor space. The new church will have about 40,000 sq ft.

"Scientology, especially in the South West, is growing and that is why we need such a large premises," said Miss Rowell.

"There are about 12,000 scientologists in the region."

A planning application is likely to be submitted within the coming months to allow the refurbishment to take place to convert it into a church.

Miss Rowell said the church was keen to "enhance" the 110-year-old building, bringing it back to its original splendour.

Miss Rowell also hinted that a celebrity could officially open the building later this year. Another spokesman, Lili Mathieson, said the church was keen to change people's perceptions of the following.

As well as specific scientology events, the building — which will host about 150 volunteers and paid staff — will continue to welcome community events and functions.

"Most people freak out about us, but they don't actually know anything about us," said Miss Mathieson.

"We have had so many conversations about this issue.

"We would invite people to come in and look at what we do.

"We want to assist in the community and play a productive part of that community."

Miss Mathieson added that outreach workers from the church would also be looking to work within the Devonport community helping the local police.

As part of the plans, the Ebrington Street site will be renovated and converted into an information centre for the church.

Mr Suri, who also owns Plymouth's Reel Cinema, told The Herald: "The Church of Scientology has bought the building.

"Someone bought it on their behalf, completing the deal last Friday."

Mr Suri said he was sad to have sold the building but admitted the market was against him.

"It is a great shame, but the market was against us," he said.

Ifan Rhys-Jones, a business space agency surveyor at Plymouth's King Sturge, said: "It has been a long search and we have looked at a lot of properties.

"It has been quite hard to find a big enough building in Plymouth.

"My remit was to find something of around 50,000 sq ft which would be suitable for educational use and public assembly.

"We have worked hard to find them a suitable site."

Among the buildings which the scientologists looked at buying are Mills Bakery at the Royal William Yard in Stonehouse; the Royal Eye Infirmary in Mutley; the former University of Plymouth School of Architecture building opposite Bar Ha Ha in the city centre; and the former St Dunstan's Abbey School in Stonehouse.

An offer was made for the former St Dunstan's Abbey School site but it was not accepted.

SCIENTOLOGY facts

SCIENTOLOGY was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard.

It defines itself as ‘the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life’.

Scientology teaches that people are immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true nature.

In 2005, the Church of Scientology stated its worldwide membership to be eight million.

Members say there are 12,000 scientologists in the South West of England.

Scientology has been the subject of much criticism in the UK over the past few years.

Protesters have campaigned against the church’s presence in Plymouth on numerous occasions.

One of the many rumours surrounding Scientology is that it is linked to extraterrestrial civilisations with scientologists believing in alien interventions in Earthly events.

found at http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/SCIENTOLOGY-CHURCH-LANDMARK-HOTEL/article-2256195-detail/article.html

[Lorelei]

Oh, great. Another vintage building they can't afford, maintain, or fill with staff that will crumble into disrepair in a few months. Just swell.

[mefree]

Exactly!

More money will be needed for the Idle Orgs.

For anyone who missed Just Bill's take on the Idle Org Scam:

If you made any donations to the "Ideal Org" Campaign, then yes, you got scammed.

You thought your local church would end up owning their own building and never pay rent again. This is not true. If your local church ever buys a building, the building's ownership will be transferred immediately to "International Landlord". The building and all the expensive renovations done to it are all the sole possession of International Management.

And that "never pay rent again"? Well, if Miscavige has funded any of the purchase or the renovations, then there will be rent due every month. Even though Miscavige's money originally came from Scientologists, maybe even you, he still will insist on charging rent.

And the chances of the new building solving your local church's problems? Slim to none. Since your local church wasn't hurting for space, and since the old quarters weren't that bad looking, a new building simply isn't the solution. But it is a very expensive, wrong solution.

What was important? Getting millions and millions of dollars from Scientologists for real estate going to International Management? Oh, yes! Solving the local church's actual problems? No, not so much.

Yes, you got scammed.
 

more at http://askthescientologist.blogspot.com/2009/04/scientologists-have-you-been-scammed.html

[Lorelei]

But they are "expanding"! Pay no attention to those empty buildings and over a thousand exes telling you it is all a real estate scam and a con.

[SocialTransparency]

But they are "expanding"! Pay no attention to those empty buildings and over a thousand exes telling you it is all a real estate scam and a con.

 I think I understand why the cult is buying up 35,000 SQ FT buildings here in the United States. Its not about real estate persay. It is my humble opinion, once marijuana is legalized, these large buildings will be converted to huge grow rooms, further lining the cult of greeds pockets. infraction needed for attempted derail

[mefree]

^^^
LOL U

Here is one example of the "fundraising" that goes on from Marty Rathbun's blog. Whether or not you are a fan of his blog, this is pertinent. I apologize for Scn-speak. We may have a glossary around here somewhere:

I had been told I needed to get an appointment for a briefing and I was hesitant as I do not have the funds to donate now and I am also very busy with my OTA hat as the OTA IC of Latam. Last year, in 2006 MV I donated 150K and in one month completed a Patron Meritorious cycle: I went from 15 K on the IAS to 250K in 12 months and it was a very BIG deal for me, I got into debt big time. I was thrilled and proud to do it but had to follow that up with a lot of production. I am a single woman and while I do own my business it is not one that makes so much profit to allow for such sizeable donations. I basically got a second mortgage on my house to do it.

After course on Tuesday the 13th, I was approached by Claire Taylor (FCS LA Fdn.) and was told I had to have an interview with the IAS, that all the OTs in the field had to be interviewed. There was no reference or no reason given to me. This is a generality and it is an arbitrary that “all OTs have to be interviewed”. I don’t think an enforced interview is OK, especially when I am active and have donated so much. But I reluctantly agreed.

Since Ted Bragin regged me before I agreed to get this briefing from him and asked him to please be brief as I had lots to do and did not want to sit there and tell someone how I did not have money. It is not OK to sit there and talk at length about debt, etc- it just brings one downtone and makes a postulate there.

I had set aside 1 hour for this and Ted was late (which was fine he was in another cycle) but when we started 20 minutes late I was anxious to get the cycle going. Ted made small talk, commenting about people who had made recent huge donations and told me I needed to be with that group of people, hang out with them. I said I had no time to hang out with new people, I was a bit puzzled at the comm. I asked him to please give me the briefing and he said it wasn’t a briefing, it was an interview, which he said was the new name for a reg cycle. I was BIs, I was told I was getting a briefing. It is not OK to lie about the purpose of a meeting, which was not what I agreed to do.

He then started to ask me about my finances and I said I did not want to discuss specifics or my debt, that I had expressed to him this. I did tell him I had no equity in the house. He became irate, that HE was the IAS and I had to disclose everything as I worked for the Church and per policy they needed to know. I asked him for a reference and he pulled out the Les Dane book and referred to the section on qualifying a prospect and said “This is LRH”. I protested this saying this was absolutely not LRH source and then asked him if then anything was mine, did I own anything? Did I have a say on my own finances and how I was going to handle them? It seemed so bizarre. Ted said I was now OT VIII and very self-determined but he “could show me what self-determinism was”. This was all done in a hostile tone. He went and got a staff member from the Flag office who is a trained Flag MAA and is on a mission here in LA, her name is Marion Vugger, and when I explained to her that I was not in agreement with the force of the cycle she told me I sounded disaffected! I am one of the most upstat and active OT Ambassadors and Scientologist on the planet, according to OT Operations Office Int who wrote this before my clearance for the ship to do OT VIII eligibility. Then Ted said, “you know I love you don’t you?” and when I said “no…” he said, “that is the first lie you say tonight, I would lie in front of you and give my life so that you and only you could go free” – it was all very melodramatic and introverting. What is one supposed to answer to that? Marion told me if I could not give money I needed to walk in and say to the IAS “what can I do for you”? I told her I was already very committed as an OTA and could not glibly say that as I would not be able to deliver. She did not answer that. I have to create income and am already very active helping the OTCs in Latam. Ted then said that we had to do it all. When I said I was already “doing it all” (I do not qual for the SO or staff and Ted knows this) he got angrier with me.

I was told I had to give “everything” to the IAS, that I work for the Church and that I had to be there on the same terms as the SO and that COB needed funds NOW. When I said I could not give what I didn’t have, that it would be out ethics, he got furious and said, “don’t you think LRH was out ethics when he almost broke his back researching the OT levels? He was out ethics on the first dynamic and on the second dynamic, he had a family, he was a husband, don’t you tell me you can’t be out ethics!”. He turned to Marion and she nodded in agreement! At that point I just remained quiet and decided I needed to not protest anymore to end the interview. I said I was working on creating more income; that I was with the program and understood what I was being told. At that point Ted told the MAA that I was more active than over 90 % of parishioners he knew and then told me I could leave. Marion left the room and Ted offered to walk me to my car. As we walked I chatted lightly and he asked me 3 times if I was OK. I was not showing any signs of not being OK, it was as if he was concerned that the cycle had been very rough and he wanted to be sure I was OK.

Ted looked very tired; I have never seen him this aggressive. I am not sure what references they are operating on but this type of treatment and comm. is unacceptable and the comment about LRH being out ethics and making it OK and even necessary to be out ethics to be an upstat IAS member, is completely unacceptable. I think this needs to be looked into.

This is true,

Mary Jo Leavitt

OT VIII, OTA IC Latam, Patron Meritorious, FSM

found at http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/

[SocialTransparency]

Oi vie! ^^^^ Marty is a real tool. Though the information is of interest, the source is a frackin con man too!