Permission sought to turn historic Helmsdale village church into private home
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Plans are on the table to convert a historic Sutherland church into a domestic residence.
Sue Sze of Newington Causeway, London, has lodged an application with Highland Council for planning consent to change the use of the Old Free Church and attached Mission House at Helmsdale.
Built around 1890, the church on Sittenham Road has not been used for worship for a number of years. While not a listed building, it is considered to be of local and regional importance.
Ms Sze owns the building the condition of which is said to be deteriorating due to water ingress. Parts of the ceiling have collapsed.
A previous application for change of use was withdrawn in 2007.
A design statement submitted to planners states: “The applicant intends to carry out a sympathetic and respectful upgrading of the building fabric, recognising that the original use of the building as a church will have wider associations and meaning within the local community.
“The church and mission hall will be sensitively converted into a modern family home. The upgrading will retain and respect the traditional form and build materials.”
According to the statement, the mission hall – at the rear of the church – would be converted into a single-storey dwelling.
The design shows an open plan kitchen, dining and living room on the ground floor with two en-suite bedrooms. A mezzanine floor would provide additional bedroom accommodation.
The area linking the mission hall with church would be converted into a living room.
The ground floor of the church itself would be converted into a multi-use activity space.
According to the design statement, the pews would be removed and a combination of partitions would be installed under the first-floor balcony to “create chambers suitable for a variety of uses such as television viewing, library and private office.”
The central part of the church would remain double height and the tiered seating on the first floor would also be retained.
The application is “under consideration”.
