A priest’s plan to transform an abandoned church where he once held sermons into a home has been thrown out on appeal. Revd Peter Harnden launched a bid on behalf of the Church of England to level the corrugated iron St Gabriel’s Church in Rough Common, near Canterbury. After Canterbury City Council (CCC) rejected outline planning permission to replace the historic ‘tin tabernacle’ with a family house, Rev Harnden escalated the matter to the Planning Inspectorate. But the government agency has also snubbed the idea, citing possible negative environmental effects on the nearby Stodmarsh Nature …