St Peter's Parochial Church Council have submitted an application for planning permission and conservation area consent for the demolition of Ford House and erection of replacement buildings.
The replacement buildings will provide ancillary church offices and three apartments for use by church staff. The plan is also to erect six town houses and two apartments on the land to the rear of Ford House.
Ford House is a two storey 19th century building which stands within the Prestbury Conservation Area and was purchased by the Church of St Peter, in the 1960s to serve as the parish centre. Although the building was widely used for church and community purposes it has deteriorated over time and in 2007 it was closed on health and safety grounds.
The planning application for Ford House is part of a larger project linked with development at St Peter's Church, the Norman Chapel and the Hearse House. The project is intended to provide a secure future for the church and the funding for these projects will be generated from the sale of the residential properties at the back of Ford House.
Therefore the planning application for Ford House has been submitted in parallel to an application to build a single storey rear extension to St Peter's Church, to provide facilities that are needed on the church site, together with restoration works to the Norman Chapel, Hearse House and the graveyard.
Whilst the sale of Ford House would potentially generate enough money to build the church extension the current poor condition of the building means its value is significantly reduced, therefore money raised from a sale would not provide enough to build the church extension, do some restoration work to the Norman Chapel and Hearse House or provide the ancillary church accommodation which is also required. The current proposal would generate sufficient funds to enable all of this work to be carried out.
At the start of the project the church had hoped to meet all its needs in a single extension. However, in light of the importance of the Grade I Listed church building, the proposal that is now being put forward is for a smaller church extension which contains only those facilities which have to be attached to the church. These will include: vestries for clergy, sacristy, robing room, rehearsal space and proper storage for the church records which date back to the 16th century.
Other proposals include: restoring the inside of Hearse House, which is a grade II listed building, to provide storage space for church equipment and laying a new floor in the Norman Chapel, with damp proofing, to make the building more useable for small services and weddings.
In addition, the church intends to improve the churchyard footpaths, to ensure good access and movement between the buildings and also provide a new access to the Shirley's car park from the church yard.
The new building at Ford House will provide a Parish office, clergy offices and interview rooms on the ground floor. Three apartments for church staff, including a church family and young people's worker, will be provided on the ground and first floors.
The domestic housing development behind Ford House, which will finance the proposals on both sites, will include six 4 bedroomed town houses, which are three stories in height, one 2 bedroomed apartment and one 3 bedroomed duplex apartment. Each of the proposed units has off-street parking and the town houses also benefit from integral garages.
St Peter's Parochial Church Council is therefore proposing to take down and rebuild Ford House, moving the footprint of the building slightly to the east so as to allow for a wider access to the housing development behind. The form and style of the replacement will be similar to the original form of the existing building, but on smaller footprint.
Ford House is not a listed building, but since it is situated within the Prestbury Conservation Area it is protected from demolition under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. It is also included in the List of Locally Important Buildings compiled by Cheshire East Council, largely for the role it plays in the village streetscene.
The planning application points out that "The present neglected state of the building and the site detracts from the conservation area and the character of the immediate area", whilst "the proposed development would restore the original character of the building and would serve to greatly enhance the character of the conservation area."
To view these planning applications visit the Cheshire East planning portal. Search by planning reference 11/0107M for the application to demolish Ford House and construct replacement buildings and search by planning reference 11/0144M to view the application for a single storey extension to St Peter's Church.
