Noise worries put £1m village hall plan on hold

Plans to build a new village hall had been set to be approved on the site of the former Knutton Recreation Centre

Plans for a £1m village hall have been put on hold to address concerns over noise impact on residents of a proposed housing estate next door.

An application for the facility in Knutton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, was due to be approved by planners on Tuesday.

But a noise survey has been requested after environmental health officers raised concerns about its effect on future residents.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council's planning officer Rachel Killeen asked for the decision to be deferred to enable noise mitigation plans.

The proposed hall is part of a wider £3.5m masterplan using government funding to transform the area.

Knutton Recreation Centre closed in 2012 and the site has remained vacant ever since.

'Survey will inform design'

The new village hall would replace the area's community centre, which closed in 2020 because of concerns over the state of the building.

It is due to be built on the former site of Knutton Recreation Centre, which lies next to a proposed 54-unit affordable housing estate.

This scheme, on brownfield land between High Street and Acadia Avenue, was approved by the council in April.

Ms Killen said: "The [village hall] building will be very close to the residential dwellings so we're requesting that a noise survey be submitted, which will inform the design of the building."

The planning committee agreed to defer making a decision until the assessment was carried out by the borough council, the applicant behind the village hall plan.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.