Works on revamping a former Arnold church into more than 20 new apartments are progressing.
In February, Gedling Borough Council approved plans to convert the former Baptist Church in Cross Street into nine flats and a further 14 apartments to be built in a new four-storey building next to the church.
The developer, 9 Property Group Ltd, will partly retain the two-storey extension to the south of the church – believed to have been attached to the previous chapel and acted as school rooms – and the very east section will be demolished.
In the converted church, there will be five duplex apartments, with three one-bed and two, two-beds, along with one two-bed and three one-bed single-storey apartments.
The church, which dates back to 1909, replaced the previous chapel built in 1825, closed in 2020.
Works to revamp the site are now progressing, with vegetation being cleared and an archaeology team, led by Contour Archaeology, appearing on site on Monday (October 6). Once the team has completed its works, the ground works can then take place.
The church building has suffered from vandalism since closing and several windows have been broken and damaged. In August 2024 a fire started in the church.
But nearby residents say the antisocial behaviour has reduced since the fire and after the church was boarded up.
One resident said: “They were just breaking in and you could hear them smashing things up inside, or teenagers running around in there. There’s even been teenagers on the roof before. Since they’ve boarded it up it hasn’t been as bad.”
Once complete, the new scheme will not come with any parking spaces due to the sloping nature of the site, but residents believe this will create traffic problems in the area.
Another. resident said: “They [could have] at least 20 cars. There’s no spaces. [I] already have one space [nearby], it’s already a bit of a problem.
“There’s going to be more people, are they going to be walking round here? There will be more people and more traffic.”
On 9 Property Group Ltd’s website, it says the gross development value – the estimated value the new development would gain on the open market – is £3.1 million and states the year for the scheme as 2026.
