Hope Church apartment conversion refused planning permission

Warrington Borough Council has thrown out plans to turn Hope Church, on Crosfield Street, into eight flats.

It comes after a similar scheme for 10 apartments in the building, dating back to 1891 and located opposite Bank Park, was refused last year due to overdevelopment.

Concerns had also been raised over parking in the area, while an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate was also dismissed in June.

A total of 22 residents objected to the latest application from developer Fast Move Properties, which would have seen the vacant church turned into five one-bedroom and three two-bedroom properties.

This included a joint objection from Cllrs Tom Jennings and Sarah Hall.

In their objection, the Bewsey and Whitecross ward councillors said: “Residents feel that, fundamentally, this scheme is not materially different from the previous application.

“Crucially, the fundamental reasons for the previous refusal of planning permission by members of the development management committee have not been satisfactorily dealt with.

“We feel it is important to stress that residents who have contacted us with concerns about this application tell us that they do not oppose the redevelopment of Hope Church.

“However, they do feel that the proposal of adding eight residential units into such a small area is out of character with the street.

“They are concerned that the existing infrastructure simply cannot adequately accommodate the additional dwellings, and that this could negatively impact the quality of life of local residents.”

“The appeal made by the developer was refused by the inspectorate earlier this year and yet the reasons for this refusal have not been resolved in this application.”

Warrington Borough Council refused planning permission on Friday, October 19, as it felt the development would have an ‘unacceptable effect on the living conditions of future occupiers’ due to the small size of the apartments and a lack of natural light.