Amended plans for a residential conversion of St John’s Church in Stone have been refused by planners at Stafford Borough Council.
BHG (Stone) Limited wanted to convert the church itself into four homes, and to build eight apartments on the car park / annexe land. More information HERE.
The application was refused on 18th June. A report from the council’s head of planning, Ted Manders, said this was due to “insufficient information to demonstrate alternative uses have been investigated – in particular uses which could have a less potentially intrusive and detrimental impact on this heritage asset”. The report also stated that the plans would have a detrimental impact on a listed building and that the proposed extension was deemed inappropriate in scale and design.
The St John’s congregation voted in May 2012 to move out of the building. They had been fundraising for years to raise £750,000 to repair its community building, an effort that was suspended because of the scale of the problems with the church itself, meaning the total amount needed to stay at the building had risen to a huge £1.75 million. The congregation held their final service in the building in August 2013 before moving out. Services have since been held at Walton Priory Middle School.
The annexe and car park at St John’s are currently being rented to Stone Van Hire. The plan was for the business to be based there until work began on the site if planning permission was granted.
2 comments
Peter Calvert
If it isn’t converted for residential use won’t it simply become an empty decaying building on one of the major routes into Stone ?. Surely better rescued than derelict ?
John Tilstone
I couldn’t agree more Peter. It would maintain the elegance of the Church and tidy up the eyesore created by the dumping of building materials and rubbish skips, along with Stone van hire, who ironically are there I believe, without planning consent!
Not to mention the untidyness around the Church itself. This Gateway to Stone gives new visitors an insite into what the town has to offer. On 1st impressions – NOT a very pretty site.
As I interpret the plans, 90% of the character and heritage will be saved, and the tastefully designed apartments with perhaps some stone work embellishments to blend with the structure of the Church would be most inkeeping with the surrounding Victorian terraces.
We are advised that the priority in this country is housing, not restaurants or commercial premises, which can cause traffic problems, and here we have a short sighted Council planning committee rejecting a sound plan to build 12 properties all of which have the blessing of a very high percentage of the Immediate residents.