PLANS have been lodged to convert a former Methodist church into a single luxury home.

Copeland Borough Council has received an application for planning permission to convert the former Wesleyan Methodist Church in Whitehaven, into a single luxury dwelling.

The building of gothic architecture is a Grade II Listed building that dates back to the 1800s.

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A heritage statement submitted with the application reports that the building was listed “in December 1978, at a time when the church was still a vibrant place of worship and which had, in the previous year, celebrated its centenary.

The statement reports that by 1995 the condition of the Methodist church “was beginning to get very serious and a report on its condition was commissioned.”

Improvements to bring the church back up to standard included £50,000 worth of urgent works and £104,000 in less urgent works to be completed over five years.

For this reason, the decision was made to close the church in 1996 and it has stood empty for the 27 years hence. The report notes that since its closure Wesleyan Methodist Church has “fallen into serious disrepair.”

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The report does not object to the proposal to convert Wesleyan Methodist Church into a luxury home.

It said: “The proposal is to create a single dwelling utilising the original fabric and not damaging anything significant.

“There are clearly many issues regarding the repair of the property which will need to be set out for the Council, to ensure that what is proposed is appropriate, but the general tenor of the scheme put forward is considered a suitable use of the spaces available and in the main give no cause for concern.”

It argues that introducing partitions internally to mark out separate rooms on the ground floor “will not damage the significance of this listed building. As proposed, they are reversible and do not damage any significant features.”

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