Nursery proposal for Old Parish building
A planning application that could lead to Cambuslang Parish Church’s Kirkill building being turned into a nursery has been submitted to South Lanarkshire Council.
High Flyers Community Childcare, currently based on Hallside Road, are looking into taking over the building, which is the site of the former Cambuslang Old Parish Church.
Their application to the council’s planning department proposes making internal alterations to the existing church building to form a nursery, incorporating the formation of an external play area, new vehicular access and a car park.
If the council approves the proposals the kirk session of the church would take the plan to the congregation.
Cambuslang Parish Church minister Leslie Milton said: “The building has been on the market for a wee while now and the planning application is still at a very early stage.
“We’ve not gone public to the congregation yet about it because the nursery have put a planning application in and a final offer will only be considered after that has been approved.
“So the planning application is still at an exploratory stage and no decision will be made until that planning permission is made, although obviously they are keen to know one way or another as soon as possible.
“The application should hopefully be decided within the next six weeks and then it would come to the kirk session.”
Leslie is hopeful that, whatever happens to the Old Parish building, it will be of use to the wider community in Cambuslang.
He added: “We have always sought a community use for the building rather than purely commercial use so we are pleased to receive interest from a group that could use it for wider use in the community.”
The Old Parish building fell out of use in the merger of the Old Parish, Trinity St Paul’s and St Andrew’s Churches to create Cambuslang Parish Church in 2008.
In August 2014 the Church voted for the building to be put to an alternative use in the community.
The building was then placed on the open market to gauge interest in a cash sale.
Last year Lightburn Elderly Association Project (Leap) were linked with taking over the building.
They later revealed that they could not raise enough funding to refurbish and convert the building and Leap withdrew from proceedings.