Freeland: Home plan for unused listed Methodist chapel rejected
- Published
The planning inspector ruled the chapel cannot be used as a house
A plan to turn an Oxfordshire village's unused listed chapel into a three-bedroom home has been rejected.
Efforts to get consent to use the Freeland Methodist Church as a house go back at least until 2019.
But an application was rejected by West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) in 2022 and an appeal was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate on 17 April, external.
A planning inspector said using it as a home would damage its character - but it could be reused as a community hub.
The chapel, in Wroslyn Road, was built in the early 19th Century and it was granted Grade II listed status in 1988.
Planning permission to use it as a village hub was granted in September 2022.
Planning inspector Jonathon Parsons found the project to turn it into a house would conflict with WODC policies over respecting villages' character and local distinctiveness.
He said it would also conflict with policies to enhance the conservation or enhancement of buildings of historic, architectural and environmental significance.
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