Park rejects plan to turn church into apartments and holiday lets
A CONTROVERSIAL plan to convert a church at the heart of one of the most visited towns in a national park has been rejected.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority planning committee heard the scheme to transform Hawes Methodist Church and Sunday School to three apartments and two cottages for holiday let accommodation was “a step too far”.
Members of the authority were divided after finding The Yorkshire Dales Local Plan aimed to deliver sustainable development in the national park, while aiming to achieve the conservation and enhancement of traditional buildings by allowing them to be adapted or converted to new uses.
The meeting was told accusations had surrounded the planning application, including some directed at the parish council, but the complaints had been unsubstantiated.
Conversations over the future of the church were held with other Christian groups from May 2013, and the only community group using the school rooms had been the Women’s Institute. The last service was held in the church in April 2014.
The meeting was told the building had been advertised for at least three years for a community use and there had been no interest.
Members heard while no extensions or demolitions were proposed and the existing railings and gates at the front were to be retained, no off-street parking would be provided, which had been a major bone of contention within the village.
A park authority officer said: “The parish council has not suggested any community group that may make use of the building and no community groups have come forward expressing an interest in taking on the building. The maintenance costs of such a large building are likely to be beyond the means of many local community organisations.”
After the scheme was approved, parish council chairman Councillor John Blackie said concerns over parking had been key to the decision.