Lancashire home to be converted into 'Place of Worship'

Plans have been submitted for 454 Clifton Drive North, aiming to convert it from a residential dwelling into a religious facility.

The proposal also includes creating a self-contained 1-bed dwelling, largely reforming the current attached garage, with minor roof enlargement planned.

Floor plans for the property (Image: Fylde Council)

This move aligns with the local authority's support for establishing religious and community centres in residential areas, given they improve the neighbourhood without harming the local character or residents' wellbeing.

The new facility will serve as a place of worship but will also have rooms dedicated to spiritual healing, as well as a community hire room for activities like counselling and art classes.

To respect the local noise environment, church activities will be limited to between 9am and 10pm from Monday to Saturday, and between 9am to 8pm on Sundays.

The proposed alteration also makes sure that there is a constant onsite presence for security and management of the religious facility.

The plan includes improving the parking layout by removing a few flower beds, but additional planting areas are to be introduced to maintain the vegetation level on the site.

Key materials and suppliers will be sourced locally where possible to limit transport emissions and fuel the local economy.

Noise and disturbance for nearby residents will be minimised as conversion and extension tasks will only be carried out during official local authority construction work hours.

The conversion includes a slight extension to the existing attached garage and minimal roof enlargement.

A new access ramp will also be fitted, and parking arrangement modified into a one-way circulation system.

The plan provides a total of 14 car parking spaces, including 2 accessible spaces, plus 3 Sheffield style bicycle hoops providing 6 bicycle parking spaces.

The site, which benefits from two entrances from Todmorden Road and Clifton Drive North, will have these changed into a one-way system for cars, keeping traffic movement smooth and safe.

All in all, the plan aims to put to better use a sizable vacant building for the community's religious and social purposes, while keeping the local character intact.

The property's conversion plans also come with provisions to maintain the green character of the site.

Additional planting areas will be introduced to offset the removal of some flower beds for formalising the parking layout.

Parking for the new development will be adjusted to cater for 14 cars and six bicycles, the plans state.

The revamp of the property's front area is largely aimed at formalising the parking while maintaining the overall green aesthetic.

The plan file states: "The resulting scheme provides a valuable community asset that respects the scale and appearance of the surrounding street scene."

The project details further state it will support the local community’s spiritual and social needs and provide security and management on site.