Shropshire village club to be turned into church

The scheme will see the former Prees Village Club, near Whitchurch, refurbished into a Baptist church after a year of lying empty.

Plans for the Church Street building were approved by Shropshire Council planning officer Tim Rogers who said it would benefit the community.

He said: "The proposed development will allow an empty community building to be brought back in to use as a place of worship for the local community together with its associated uses. The works to achieve this will enhance and improve the character of the building and the surrounding area including the Prees Conservation Area.

"It is also the opinion of officers that the proposed development will not have an unacceptable impact on the residential amenities of the neighbouring residential properties."

The village club, which at one point had an alcohol licence, closed down more than a year ago.

Prees Baptist Church currently uses the nearby village hall for worship, youth groups and other meetings.

But members will soon be able to leave the temporary home and move into the former club building where they hope to also introduce a coffee shop which would help raise money for the church.

Along with the coffee shop, members also hope to make a few changes inside, as well as build an create a pedestrian entrance together with access ramp, install solar panels and put up new signs.

Prees Parish Council initially supported the plans but said it had concerns about the placement of solar panels.

Members of the church group revisited the project to make changes, and councillors then said they were "happy to support the application".

In a report, planning agent Gary Chester said it would be an "ideal location".

He said: "The proposal should be welcomed as it makes use of a commercial building that otherwise might be lost.

"On the whole, the scheme provides an ideal solution to a 'tricky' site within a small village."