Farnley Hill Methodist Church home plan withdrawn

0
1290
Farnley Hill Methodist Church
Farnley Hill Methodist Church. Copyright Betty Longbottom and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

Plans to turn a Listed former church in Farnley into a four-bedroom home have been withdrawn by developers.

Proposals for the vandalised Farnley Hill Methodist Church on Stonebridge Lane included the removal of an organ dating back to the 1890s, along with some ground floor pews to provide a usable practical space.

Along with building a new mezzanine floor to create bedrooms, the design proposed to retain key features.

Developer A Mahmood, of Fawcett Lane, said it would maintain the balcony’s original raked Georgian pews and the pulpit’s communion rail will form the basis of a home cinema and gym. New windows and garden access doors would be fitted to the gable.

But Leeds City Council’s conservation team branded the proposals ‘harmful’ to the Grade II Listed building. Objecting to the proposals, they said:

“The proposed conversion is harmful to the listed building. This is the result of the subdivision of the ground floor under the gallery and the consequent removal of pews and the insertion of a new floor which would probably require the removal of alteration of the roof structure.”

The neglected building, on Stonebridge Lane, dates back to 1828 and the developer said it has been disused since the late 1990s.

A planning and heritage statement submitted with the application by Stack Architects says commercial agents, religious orders and community groups have been approached over the past five years, but no practical use of the building had been found.

The proposals have been submitted by A Mahmood of Fawcett Lane, Wortley, and can be read in full here.

Previous application

A planning application requesting the removal of pews and the organ were refused by Leeds City Council in 2016 following objections, including watchdog group Leeds Civic Trust.

At the time, the council refused on the grounds of ‘harm to the special interest and character of a heritage asset’.

_______________

While you’re here…

Producing your daily dose of West Leeds Dispatch comes at a cost!

There’s the hosting of the website you’re reading now, running our popular e-mail newsletter, membership of independent press regulator Impress, attending summer events, paying for equipment etc etc.

We need at least £200 a month just to break even – that’s money currently coming out of the pockets of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about what’s happening in our communities, connecting you with local groups and organisations as well as holding decision-makers to account and championing local issues.

And all that’s BEFORE we even think about paying something for people’s time – for instance, our editor puts in more than 24 hours a week in his ‘spare’ time to ensure The Dispatch publishes daily.

To put it bluntly, after nearly four years of daily publishing, we are not sustainable!

And we need YOUR help to continue …

For the cost of less than a couple of cups of coffee you can help support local community news and continue to give our communities a voice by taking out a subscription for just £4 per month (that’s just a pound a week).

As a thanks you’ll get your name on a roll of honour on our website. More importantly you will be enabling us to keep bringing you the news that matters about your neighbourhood.

Achieving a bedrock of supporters will give us a firm financial footing and help us plan for the future.

Supporting us couldn’t be easier…

Just follow this link.

or set up a standing order with your bank:

Contact us on Paywestleedsdispatch@gmail.com if you’d like to do this.

Over to you …



LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.