Planning Permission Secured For Former St Faith’s Church, Newton. 

Berrys was instructed to gain planning permission for a change of use from a Field Centre to one 4-bed dwelling house at Newton Lodge. The building was formally known as Newton Church of St Faith and was constructed in the 14^th Century. The structure is a Grade II* listed building but is no longer in use as a church.

How We Approached The Project

The Church was associated with the ‘deserted village’ and therefore the building was converted into a Field Centre in 1974, with the purpose to provide an educational facility with overnight accommodation for school children.

Due to the ongoing struggle for schools to secure the insurance requirements to use the field centre, the facility has been left underused in recent years. Therefore, it was proposed by the new owners to use the building for a residential use.

How We Achieved The Project

Sean Bennett, Principal Planning Consultant, completed the application which included a statement of heritage significance and a detailed planning statement to argue the need for a change of use application. The application, submitted in February 2023, aimed to change the current use from a residential field centre into a dwelling house.

It was proposed that the scheme would need to be sensitive to the existing heritage asset and the surrounding area. Therefore, the proposal included minimal change to the exiting internal and external structure and would remain as shown in the drawings below.

While the main constraint of heritage meant that it was difficult to gain planning permission, it was decided that the proposal did not cause a significant level of harm.

Subsequently, the application was issued with an approval on 27^th December 2023.