By John Baron
Plans to transform parts of grade II Listed Burley Methodist Church Hall into offices and an area for community use have been approved by Leeds City Council.
The church spans across 49, 51 and 53 Cardigan Lane, with Leeds Property Group owning both 49 and 51. This change of use application applies to 49 and 51 Cardigan Lane only.
Originally, the building was used as a Sunday school before being converted to offices in 2000 and consequently the different parts of the church were renamed to Burley Methodist Church (No. 53), Burley Hall (No. 51), and the annex becoming Burley Lodge (No. 49).
Burley Methouist Church Hall was later converted back into a place of worship in 2012. The smaller annex, Burley Lodge, was also converted back to a place of worship in 2014.
The proposal involves the change of use to become the main office space for Leeds Property Group, housing eight staff members. The proposal also requests for 49 Cardigan Lane to become a community space, “available for anyone in the local area”.
A planning statement accompanying the application states: “There are no alterations to the external of the building or the site layout, no changes to be made to the internal aside from the addition of general office furniture, and the site will retain its eight car-parking spaces.”
A council planning officer’s report approving the plan this week stated: “The development is considered acceptable in principle and would bring back into use a vacant listed building, providing office accommodation and a ‘community facility’ both of which are compatible with the mixed commercial and residential status of the surrounding area and the current building.
“Furthermore, subject to conditions, the proposal is not considered to pose a greater threat than the current use when assessing impacts from traffic generation, noise and privacy etc.”
The plans can be viewed in full here.
Sponsored content
