A FORMER Methodist church in a County Durham village could be converted into a family home under new proposals.

Plans have been lodged with Durham County Council for a former church building off Sharon Avenue, in Kelloe.

According to a design and access statement from the applicant, the building is currently unused and has “not been in religious or community use for some considerable time.”

Although the site benefits from a previous permission to demolish the church and replace it with four semi-detached properties, this planning permission has not been brought forward.

Instead, new applicants aim to convert the building into a family home while maintaining several recognisible features of the structure.

The design and access statement reads: “The property is not a listed building nor is it listed as of local importance and this is evident given the previous [planning] approval. 

“However the building is a recognisable structure within the front street of this former mining village and has links to the village’s past. 

“The considerable retention of the recognisable elements of the building would be a positive factor for the village keeping the visual links to the past alive even though the building now has no useful role for the village.”

The proposed home would be served by two new parking spaces with the building designed to cater for all types of access needs.

A new roof structure would also be installed to replace the existing flat roof, which according to applicants, is leaking and “the cause of major deterioration of the building fabric.”

Meanwhile, the majority of the works would include the conversion and subdivision of existing internal spaces.

Durham County Council’s planning department is expected to make a decision on the application by the end of June 2021.

For more information, visit the county council’s planning portal and search reference: DM/21/01218/FPA