Blackburn's Gospel Hall set to become supermarket, bakery and flat
Plans to convert a former town centre Gospel Hall into a shop and flat have succeeded at the second attempt.
Mohammed Riaz Patel - who owns Meena Bakery next door - has been granted permission to change the use of 43 Victoria Road, Blackburn, into a mixed use development of retail, goods production and storage at ground and first floor, and accommodation at the second floor. He has also been allowed to install a new shop front and build side extensions and a dormer to the side.
Similar plans for the three-storey building were thrown out over fears it could lead to the building becoming bedsits, parking worries and claims the proposal would “potentially result in an unacceptable detrimental impact on the residential amenity of nearby properties.”
But now, despite one objection, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has approved revised plans with 16 conditions - including an instruction to keep a stained glass window above the double entrance door, which has been deemed “a key feature of the principal façade”.
A planning officer stated: “The site comprises the former Gospel Hall that has been vacant and falling into disrepair for over 10 years. Bringing this attractive, prominent building back into an active, viable use is a significant material consideration in the assessment of this application.”
They added that the amended internal layout, with fewer bedrooms and more shared living areas, “now looks much more like a single residential use rather than a HMO” and with a residency condition attached as a safeguard, “the proposal is now considered acceptable”.