Plans to turn a derelict church south of Bath into a home have been approved.
The former Methodist church at Carlingcott | Image © Google Street View / Google 2024
The former Methodist church at Carlingcott dates from 1851 and is a Grade II listed building.
Demand from worshippers progressively dwindled over the years and services stopped completely in 2017. The property was then sold.
The building is said to be showing signs of deterioration.
There are graves at the site which are still managed by the Methodist Church to allow relatives to visit.
The planning application submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council said the layout of the building will not be changed and neither will the external appearance.
Attempts were made to get right of access from neighbouring properties in order to be able to park next to the building but were unsuccessful, so parking will be on-street as it was when used as a church.
The council received five objections and four comments of support for the plans.
Concerns were raised that all five of the access roads to the village are single track and there is no overflow parking available.
There is said to be “barely enough” for residents who do not have parking on their own land.
One objector said it is not practical to live comfortably or conveniently in the building without making substantial changes to the interior at least.
It was also pointed out that although there is a bus stop approximately 1,000 metres away, the route to it is via a narrow country lane, without a pavement for much of the way and insufficient lighting, which is “not conducive to giving up your car for public transport”.
Comments of support included: “This property needs to be restored and brought back to life and would make a comfortable home.
“If this plan for residential use was refused, I can’t see what other use the building would be suitable for and could fall into disrepair and become an eyesore.”
In her report, the council planning officer said: “The property does not benefit from off-street parking, and objectors have commented on the limited availability of on-street parking in the village.
“However, in its current lawful use, the existing building could be attended by any number of vehicles for services or related occurrences. Parking for the existing use would also have been on the street.
“Although the proposed use as a single dwellinghouse may increase the frequency of parking demand, the overall numbers of attendees is likely to be lower than the existing.
“Taking the existing use into account, it is not considered that the change of use would result in an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network would be so severe as to warrant refusal.”
Secure storage for at least four bicycles is proposed as part of the conversion scheme.
