A local church and community building in Crowthorne will soon be able to welcome a larger congregation thanks to a recently approved planning permission for an extension to the existing building.
The single storey rear and side extension will increase the worship space and also provide quality facilities for the local community to benefit from, including new meeting and conference rooms. A new levelled entrance into the building will be provided at both doors for ease of access; making this an inclusive building for the local community.
A previous application for a double storey rear extension was approved by Bracknell Forest Council in 2013 but has not been implemented and the permission has since expired. As part of the recent planning application, ET Planning provided a comparison of the two applications and made note that the current proposals provided a 32% reduction in worship space and six fewer office/meeting rooms over the previously approved application.
ET Planning also recognised that as there was no car parking at the site, and that this could not be introduced as part of any new development due to the site’s positioning and constraints, it would be important to provide an updated transport statement alongside the planning application. This statement detailed that the site benefits from adequate town centre car parking within 400m of the building and so parking on site should not be a constraint of the application.
Finally, ET Planning brought to the council’s attention the Local Plan Policy SC3 which seeks to ensure that there is no reduction in existing community facilities. The conclusion of the report described how the proposed development would ensure the future viability of the church and that it would meet the increasing demands for space and usability for both church and other community users.
The building plans were created by architects Allen Associates and were approved by Bracknell Forest Council under delegated powers.