Shropshire Council and Historic England have responded positively to a pre-application submission by the Community Board for the church extension.

In Autumn 2022, the Community board engaged Shropshire Council and Historic England in pre-application discussions concerning a proposed extension to the church. Pre-application discussions are informal and are held ahead of a full planning and listed building application. They help to inform the planning application and listed building applications and ensure that challenging matters are dealt with early on.

The pre-application discussions were held after nearly two years of developing plans for the church extension. The community board has been exploring options for meeting the community’s needs for over a decade.

The plans propose an extension of the church to provide more space for our community. The plans also include a small meeting space with kitchen facilities and a WC to the south of the church to meet our basic day-to-day needs.

The plans also include a car park in the ‘Orchard’ and an area of landscaping. Notably, the plans propose rerouting access to the church from Dove Close to the Orchard so that we can manage visitor parking for the benefit of people living in Dove Close.

Both Shropshire Council and Historic England have responded positively to the scheme. The next step is for the Community Board to present the plans to the local community and other interested parties.

Thank you for your prayers! There is still a long way to go yet. Please keep praying for this project!