£5m church redevelopment plan approved in Yorkshire

Last year a £5m project to transform St Andrew’s Church in Keighley was revealed. Project Beacon aimed to improve worship facilities at the church as well as developing a “thriving” community venue.

A planning application for the works – including a new church hall, gallery space in the church and improved entrance lobby, has this week been approved by Bradford Council.

They were submitted by the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Keighley.

St Andrews is a Grade II listed church that dates back to the 1840s and was the work of R D Chantrell, who was responsible for a number of churches across the north of England

Planners decided that although the work would lead to changes to a listed building, these could be justified to “secure the continued use of the building.”

The proposals for the church, also known as Keighley Shared Church, first took shape in 2018. The application said: “There had been a growing sense that the available space should be put to better use for worship, for offering increased social support to the Keighley residents and for more frequent community gatherings generally.

“It was felt that, not only should the church and hall be a place for Christian worship, but also a centre where those of other faiths (and none) could come together to participate in community and social activities across all age groups, ethnicities and backgrounds-all of which would enhance cohesion and uplift our Keighley community.”

Last year it was estimated that the work to create a new church hall would cost around £2.5m and the internal improvements to church would also cost £2.5m.

The planning application said the church’s shortcomings included an “outdated and inflexible spaces for meetings and social gatherings, poor toilet facilities, extremely limited kitchen space and equipment and an underused gallery area.”

The church hall, which was built in the early 80s, was described a “tired, built to a poor specification and lacking in multi-functioning spaces.”

The plans included the demolition of the church hall and the construction of an extension to the existing parish church, which would include a new community hall with kitchen facilities.

It would be joined to the church by a link space, and the application says: “The hall features large sliding doors, which when open allow the hall and link space to be used as one large space. This space can be utilised for a variety of community uses, its proximity to the kitchen and servery area lends itself to a café use, or providing community meals.”

Plans for the existing church would see two glazed spaces either side of the main entrance to “allow a welcoming view” into the church building, a new welcome lobby, staircase and lift to a refurbished gallery area that would provide extra seating for worshipers at large events such as Christmas services and weddings, as well as space for community events.

Approving the application, planners said: “The church is an immediately recognisable feature, especially the dominant tower.

“A compromise between maintaining the historic significance and ensuring the building remains in use is necessary, and such an approach is justified to secure the continued use of the building.

“The existing church hall does not complement the conservation area or the setting of the church. Its demolition is not opposed. The replacement is proportionate and subservient to the church. The appearance is simple and does not compete with the church.

“The loss of original fabric does cause a degree of harm. “Some remaining box pews have sensitively been incorporated into the new design and the subtle contemporary appearance and form is well related to the form of the nave.

“The harm is accepted as balanced by benefits to the functionality of the church and both losses and intervention are proportionate when set in the context of the scale and significance of the building. The proposals can be justified in terms of the benefit of retaining the building in beneficial use.”

Church on the Green Neighbourhood Foundation, the charity established to oversee the redevelopment, has previously said that fundraising for the project would begin in earnest once planning permission was granted.

To donate visit https://www.churchonthegreen.uk/project-beacon/