New Norwich church bid rejected by planners
 A fire-hit Norwich church may have to operate from a hotel after its plan to build a temporary base was rejected by planning bosses.
Trevor Pimlott, senior pastor for the Norwich Family Life Church, made the prediction after city councillors turned down plans for it to build a temporary church in the city.
The Mount Zion Family Life Centre, in Heartsease Lane, was destroyed in a blaze in February 2006 and the Norwich Family Life Church wanted to build a temporary structure at the old site.
The church has kept a presence on the Heartsease site since the fire, with a temporary building serving as classrooms and an office on the site. It has also been using Drayton Hall, just off Drayton High Road, as a base for church services.
But planning permission for the temporary buildings on Heartsease Lane has expired, and the church cannot use Drayton hall after October.
After the meeting on June 11, Mr Pimlott said: “Obviously we're disappointed with the outcome, as we desperately wanted to get back on the site.
“We will now have to move into a hotel or a school in October, although we will continue further consultations with the planning department to bring in a phased application rather than a single, temporary one."
The church has about 400 members, with 212 young people in its youth club, and members told the meeting at City Hall that it desperately wanted to return to Heartsease, where its catchment area was.
But David Bradford, chairman of the council's planning committee, said that while all the councillors appreciated the good work the church did in the community, the application was against planning policy and had to be turned down.
The grounds for refusal included it being inappropriate for the area, its size and appearance, and there being no guarantee it would not remain for a considerable length of time.
To read more of this story from EveningNews24, click here
|
