A planning application has been submitted to remove rows of pews and the organ from historic Farnley Hill Methodist Church and Sunday School.
The neglected Grade II Listed building, on Stonebridge Lane, dates back to 1828 and has been disused since the late 1990s.
In a statement accompanying his planning application, Farshad Mahmood, of Fawcett Lane, says:
“We have had several potential tenants viewing the property to lease the church, who were interested in letting the premises for the use of yoga, dance classes … and for kids’ parties etc.
“However, due to the existence of the pews we are unable to move forward with leasing the premises and the church, as a reslut, continues to be neglected.”
Middleton-based organ specialist JM Spink says the organ has little value due to problems with ‘damp, woodworm and a significant period of misuse’. He says the organ is by Brookes of Glasgow and dates back to the early 1890s.
More information about the plans – and an opportunity to comment on them – can be found at Leeds City Council’s planning portal.