'Traveller church' to open in abandoned Preston community centre

A church popular with the travelling community is to open a new place of worship in Preston.

The Romany-led Life and Light Missions has been granted permission to convert the former Sion Park Community Centre in Ribbleton.

The building, on Longridge Road, has been empty for six years and previously operated as a district housing office.

The evangelical Christian church - headquartered in Surrey - claimed in 2016 that around 40 percent of the Gypsy population in the UK were members. The movement promotes abstinence from alcohol and has a focus on miracle healing.

Preston City Council planning officials have given the go-ahead to the change of use of the former community facility after concluding that it would not have any “unacceptable impacts”.

The premises will host church services, bible studies and prayer and gospel meetings. It is estimated that the congregation will number around 60 at any one time.

No public objections were raised to the plans, which do not involve any external or internal alterations to the building.

While there are only six parking spaces on the site itself, off-street parking is available nearby and the applicant has secured the use of 39 such spots via rolling 12-month agreements with both the New Labour Club and Ribbleton Service Station.

Although welcomed by town hall planners as a “positive attribute” of the proposal, they did not deem it necessary to make the availability of the additional spaces a condition of the permission, because the site is in “a sustainable location”.

A report outlining the planning decision notes that the parking agreements relate to land “outside the applicant's control” and accepts that there can be “no certainty that they will remain in force for the lifetime of the development”.

The building is more than 50 metres from the nearest residential properties, while the extra parking sites are separated from those homes by Chatburn Road, reducing any potential noise impact.

The permission granted does, however, limit use of the new facility to between 9am and 9.30pm Monday to Saturday and 9am until 8pm on Sundays.

The church says meetings will take place on Sundays between 12noon and 1pm and from 5pm until 7pm, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm until 9pm.