A decision is due on plans to convert a redundant baptist church in Arnold town centre into new apartments.
Plans submitted to Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee reveal that the former religious building will contain nine apartments and a further 14 will be constructed within the grounds.
The church building was last used as a place of worship in September 2020 and has been unused since then. The building has since been vandalised multiple times by young people who have broken inside.
The scheme proposes the retention of the existing church building and the attached Victorian school room which will be converted into residential apartment accommodation consisting six one-bedroomed units and three two-bedroomed units arranged across 2.5 storeys.
The new building proposed to be erected within the existing grounds will house 14 one-bedroom apartments.
The Nottinghamshire County Council Archaeology team said they welcomed the revised proposal to retain the Baptist Church. But warned that in 2017 human remains had been found in the burial ground that had been missed when it was cleared at an earlier date.
In a reporty to the planners they wrote: “It is likely that other burials remain within the site boundary. Disturbance and removal of human remains without the necessary licences in place and in line with an approved scheme of works is a criminal offence and it will be essential that the developer accounts for this in their plans.”
They recommended that further archaeological work takes place at the site ‘to mitigate the impact of the development’.
Planning officers have recommended that permission is granted if developers entered into a legal agreement with the Borough Council as the Local Planning Authority and the County Council to secure an affordable housing financial contribution.
In a report to the planning committee they wrote: “The design, scale and layout of the proposal is acceptable and does not have an unacceptable impact on the character or visual amenity of the area or on the non-designated heritage asset and will not increase flood risk in the area”
Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee are expected to make a decision at a meeting next Wednesday (27).
