A decision on plans to turn a Merthyr Tydfil church into flats has been put on hold. The application for the proposed conversion of Wesley Methodist Church in South Street in Dowlais into six self-contained flats was deferred by the council’s planning committee on Wednesday, November 16, so a site visit can take place.
The report to committee said the church is neither listed or locally listed and is of a non-traditional design. It would be made up for three two-bedroom flats and three one-bedroom flats over three floors.
External parts of the building would be refurbished, and dormer windows would be installed into the northern and southern sides of the building. The brick walls and fencing surrounding the north-eastern, south-eastern and south-western boundaries would be made taller.
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There would be a bin store, bicycle stands and six off-road car parking spaces within the existing car park. There would also be a communal garden and private areas for some of the flats, as well new landscaping and lighting.
Councillor Declan Sammon had requested the application be reported to the planning committee so it can consider the impact of the proposed development on highway safety and the potential loss of privacy to neighbouring properties.
He called for the site visit, saying parking issues are of concern. One letter of objection was received by the council raising concern that there are already not enough parking spaces in the area.
They mentioned residents having more cars per household and also staff of Newland’s Children’s’ Centre using South Street for parking. But in recommending approval, planning officers said in the report that no highway objections have been raised by the highways department and careful consideration was given to parking, proximity to local amenities and cycle parking.
They added: “In terms of off-street parking and traffic movements, it is considered that the existing use would have a greater demand for parking and could result in more traffic movements than the proposed use. The application site is also in a sustainable location where many day-today facilities can be accessed on foot, by bicycle or by using public transport.
“As a consequence, residents may choose not to own a car. The six car parking spaces proposed for this development are therefore considered acceptable. It is also noted that a cycle store would be provided as part of this development.
“On this basis, the development would not have a detrimental impact on highway safety or the free flow of traffic in the area.” In terms of the impact on residents, they said it “would not unduly compromise the amenities of nearby residents”.
They recognised that the building would be altered but said its footprint would remain the same, apart from the introduction of dormer windows to the south-eastern and north-western roofs so the scheme would “not give rise to any harmful levels of overshadowing or overbearing impacts”. The planning officers said that where there is the greatest potential impact of overlooking, there is a sufficient separation distance to ensure there is no unacceptable loss of privacy and no letters of representation have been received from those who live in these properties.
In another area where there’s concern of overlooking, the report said the view from the dormer window located closest to the front of the church would be at an acute angle and as such, the level of overlooking that could occur would be limited. It also said the windows in the nearby property are small in size and are likely to be in “non-habitable rooms”.
The report also said officers have considered the impact of the window and doorway located on the side of the building on the ground floor and it is not considered that the overlooking impact would be significant.
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