The Church is seeking to deliver a new, purpose-built, Gospel Hall on land at Chapel Farm, off Luton Road, Chalton. The new Gospel Hall would replace the one currently used by the Church in Houghton Regis, which is too small to meet the needs of the church community.
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has worked extensively with the local council to design plans which respect the agricultural heritage of the site. The plans would remove the dilapidated agricultural buildings on site and replace them with sensitively designed buildings which meet the needs of the Church community, whilst also enhancing biodiversity and wilding on the site.
The Chapel Farm site has enough space to meet the needs of the Church and bring benefits for Chalton residents.
To meet Church needs, we are proposing a Gospel Hall that accommodates the congregation, as well as adequate parking to meet current and future needs.
For the local Chalton community, included in the proposal are plans to gift land to Chalton Lower School, and two nearby farmhouses. During conversations with Central Bedfordshire Council, the need for allotment space has been identified, and so provision has been made for this too. Nearby residents will also benefit from a site that will, as a general rule, be unoccupied during the day and for short periods at weekends. Sensitive rewilding plans and no inclusion of housing will further enhance the eastern approach to the village and preserve its rural character.
Nearby residents will also benefit from a site that will, as a general rule, be unoccupied during the day and for short periods at weekends, allowing for the public space area to potentially act as a quiet area where people can go to meditate, relax, and unwind.
Working with Central Bedfordshire Council, the Hall has been designed to reflect the agricultural heritage of the site. The building’s size has been kept to a minimum while still providing adequate space to serve the local congregation, and in fact the floorspace of the Hall will be 35% smaller than that of the existing buildings on site.
To support ambitions for long-term use of the site, the Gospel Hall has been designed with sustainability at its heart. We will utilise responsibly sourced materials, and are working with specialist consultants on this approach.
The plans also include a strong focus on habitat creation, including the planting of a significant number of trees along the eastern portion of the site, and Biodiversity Net Gain on site is expected to well exceed the national standard of 10%.
The site is well located to meet the needs of the Church and the wider community, with good accessibility via roads, pavements and public transport. It is accessed from Luton Road, the main road running through Chalton. To enhance public safety, we have submitted a planning application to move the entrance further up the road.
There is a bus stop immediately outside the site as well as pavements leading from the village to the proposed Gospel Hall.
The Gospel Hall would be accompanied by a suitably sized car park, providing sufficient parking to accommodate the needs of the congregation. The car park is sympathetically designed to have a ‘National Trust’ feel, to be in keeping with the local landscape and is partially screened from view by the proposed building.
The proposals include 48 electric vehicle charging stations as well as parking for 30 bicycles.