Listed former church to become restaurant and bar

The council has approved plans to turn the former United Reformed Church on Hall Gate into a restaurant and bar

The owner of a Grade II listed former church in Doncaster city centre has been granted permission to convert it into a restaurant and wine bar.

The 220-year-old United Reformed Church on Hall Gate has been disused since 2018 and was sold by its previous owners, the Yorkshire Congregational Union, in 2022.

The applicant, Building Link Design Architects, said in its proposal the space "is no longer important or required as a community facility" and "needs to be sympathetically re-purposed".

The redevelopment of the site, which has been approved by Doncaster council, would have a positive impact on the local economy by creating jobs and increasing tax revenue, they added.

Key features of the structure would be preserved and alterations to its exterior would be kept to a minimum, it added.

It suggested the existing pews could be incorporated into the interior design.

A representation by Doncaster Civic Trust during the consultation process welcomed the building being brought back into use, but raised concerns about the amount of historic material that could be removed from inside.

It added it would approve of the removal of the more modern café building at the front of the site, which the former owner had planned to do.

A representation by the Historic Buildings and Places charity said a restaurant would "work so well with the grain and the character of this handsome and evocative building".

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