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Residents opposing housing plan for historic church land
THE owner of an historic West Yorkshire church has dropped plans to convert it into an apartment after objections from conservationists.
Grade II* listed Hopton United Reformed Church, which was built in 1829, has not been used since 2007, has been plagued by vandals and is on a ‘buildings at risk’ register.
Owner Faye Parker, who bought the property at auction, originally wanted to convert the church into an apartment but following consultation with Kirklees Council and conservation groups, including English Heritage, these plans have now been withdrawn.
Instead, a revised plan has been submitted that involves the conversion of the sunday school into five homes and the erection of six houses on land at the back of the sunday school.
Conservation experts at the council say they would not normally accept plans to build in the grounds of a Grade II* listed church but, on this occasion, it could be supported because the housing development would enable the owner to spend money on desperately-needed repairs to the chapel.
A council report on the plans says that the applicant, Ms Parker, has presented sufficient financial evidence to demonstrate that the amount of new development (housing) is the minimum required to repair the chapel.
The report adds: “Whilst we would not tend to support the principal of development within the grounds of a Grade II* church it is clear in this instance that without it the chapel will continue to deteriorate and will remain in the ‘At Risk’ Register.
“We therefore reluctantly agree to the principle and amount of development proposed as Enabling Development to bring the chapel (which is the most significant element of the complex) up to a state of good repair.”
The report says that the church has suffered “significant decay” due to “prolonged lack of maintenance which commenced before the denomination vacated the building.”
It adds: “Unsympathetic and inappropriate repairs have caused further deterioration and it is clear that the building still suffers from extensive dry rot and timber decay, particularly in the roof timbers.”
The planning report, which will be considered by councillors at a meeting tomorrow, is recommending the plans be passed.
Councillors will be told that a legal agreement will be needed to control the phasing of the development to ensure that the housing is not completed without a mechanism for securing repairs to the church itself.
English Heritage have raised no objections to the application and have told the council to make a decision based on planning policy and from guidance from the authority’s own conservation specialist.
The council’s conservation and design department ruled that the development should be given permission, concluding: “The design of the new development is acceptable given that it is largely in keeping with the character and appearance of the designated heritage asset.
“Whilst the erection of the three new units to the left hand side of the chapel would appear to be rather close there is sufficient evidence to suggest a building of similar scale and height in this location. We believe this to be the former Sunday School.”
The report says a significant number of objections have been submitted to the council in relation to the development of the site.
Locals have complained that the development will be “squashed” onto the site and will remove green and open land in the Lower Hopton area.
Others claimed the proposed semi-detached properties will be too high and will affect the amount of sunlight to adjacent gardens and lead to a loss of privacy. Critics fear that house prices will be affected and the development will damage the historic character of the chapel.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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