New homes at St Peter's church hall will not go ahead

There will be no new homes at St Peter’s Parish Church Centre building in Chapel Road, Ashley Cross, after BCP’s planning committee once again refused the applications. 

The rejection comes despite there being ‘an approved demolition of the existing hall’ and has put to bed fears by some who say the loss of the hall would be a loss of a community facility. 

Cllr Tony Trent hit out the planning system in the meeting, saying: “The thing that stands out from all of this is how disconnected the whole planning system is. 

Inside the hall (Image: Darryl Howells)

“The fact that it can be allowed under permitted development to demolish the premises and that that premises can’t be redeveloped because the premises would be a loss of community facility.” 

Meanwhile, Cllr Mike Tarling, who said he has had experience of church halls being demolished before, said: “It does create divisions in communities. 

“As much as I am a churchgoer, it is quite key to point out that the church has been given responsibility to run a lot of establishments that have perhaps been given as a Christian gift but for the greater community.” 

“The volume of community space is clearly going to be reduced,” Cllr Felicity Rice added. 

Reverend Mike Trotnam (Image: BNPS)

Reverend Mike Trotnam, rector of St Peter’s Church, said: “This scheme [would have] fund[ed] the final stage of our proposal to put this parish church back at the local community. 

“The existing church hall needs major improvements: it has condemned heaters, inadequate toilet and it is financially unviable for the church to continue to subsidise the hall’s running costs.” 

Fears had also been raised that the project submitted by Paul Bloomfield of Ashdrew Ltd would be an “overdevelopment” in the area. 

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.   

In the end, 10 councillors rejected the two planning applications, three voted in favour and one abstained.