PLANS to demolish a church centre building have been recommended for refusal by council planning officers once again.
Two separate planning applications to build either six or four new homes at St Peter’s Parish Church Centre building in Chapel Road, Ashley Cross, might both be rejected.
The council planning department fears that both applications, submitted by Paul Bloomfield of Ashdrew Ltd, would be an “overdevelopment” in the area.
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In a report, officers said: “Overall, the scheme would appear as a cramped and contrived form of development that would be detrimental to the character and appearance of the street scenes of Chapel Road and Church Road and the surrounding area.
“The scheme would represent an overdevelopment of the application site and would fail to provide sufficient land to enable a type, scale and layout of development that would preserve or enhance the residential character and appearance of the area.”
The report adds that demolishing the hall would mean the “loss of a community facility which would result in a significant loss in the range of facilities and services for the local community”.
It added that the applicants had not “satisfactorily demonstrated that the facility is no longer needed and it is not feasible to support its continued existence”.
Officers also recommend refusal because the proposed homes would have a “minor effect on the significance” of the Ashley Cross Conservation Area with which it is in.
Having been backed by the landowner and church vicar, the previous six-home plans were refused in November last year by BCP Council planners who again feared overdevelopment.
The hall itself, a short distance from the main church, has been used as a community space since the mid-1970s, but dwindling use and rising costs have led to its decline in recent years.
Clive Balaam, a churchwarden at St Peter’s, said he has rarely ever used the church centre and described it as being “no longer financially viable”.
Eighty letters of support which contradict planning officers' recommendations are cited as the reason why the applications are being referred to the planning committee.
The applications will be considered by the planning committee at a meeting held on Thursday, September 21.
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