There is a longstanding need for a place of worship to serve the congregation within the community. Currently, members who live and work in the local area are required to travel outside of Lichfield to access a Gospel Hall.
To meet the need for a local place of worship, the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has identified disused land off Grange Lane as an ideal location to deliver a new Gospel Hall. While rural in character, the site neighbours the Lichfield urban area and sits within an established row of existing developments, including the Grange Hill Veterinary Centre and residential houses.
The site today
The site is in a poor state. Previously developed for use as a caravan park, the land now attracts anti-social behaviour and has been blighted by litter and other paraphernalia in recent years. A former clubhouse, which is now derelict and an ongoing safety concern for the local community, is also situated on the land.
Left in its current state, the site will continue to decline, offer no benefit to the local community, and pose a safety risk to anyone who enters the derelict buildings.
Our proposal
Our proposals seek to revitalise the site by reimagining the current dilapidated buildings to deliver an attractive new place of worship. The Gospel Hall is also proposed to sit to the South of the site, minimising the visual impact of the Gospel Hall while ensuring that it complements the existing natural surroundings.
The sympathetic design of the Gospel Hall reflects the topography of the site to ensure that it will not have a greater visual impact generated by the current buildings on site. In keeping with this approach, its size has been kept to a minimum while still providing adequate space to serve the local congregation for years to come.
Inspired by the Forest of Mercia
Inspired by the site’s location within the Forest of Mercia, the design of the Gospel Hall has been heavily influenced by the surrounding natural landscape.
Simple in its design with a focus on effortlessly integrating with the rural landscape, the single-storey Gospel Hall has been designed to balance a traditional barn-like appearance with subtle contemporary elements. The new building will also have a timber-clad finish to ensure it effortlessly complements with the site’s natural surroundings.
In contrast to its current condition, the proposals will ensure the site is used to better reflect its presence within the Green Belt.
Designed with nature at heart
To support ambitions for long-term, sustainable use of the site, the Gospel Hall has been designed with nature at heart. This includes using locally sourced materials where possible and extensive new planting and rewilding across the the site.
This results in a valuable c.39% habitat and c.14% hedgerow net gain for biodiversity – beyond the national standard of 10%.
The plans have been developed with an emphasis on protecting the existing trees and vegetation, along extensive rewilding across the site. While there are no Tree Preservation Orders, all trees will be retained where possible, including along the boundary of the site to provide a visual buffer with the neighbouring area.
A car park is proposed to be situated to the south of the site to make best use of the existing access from Grange Lane, along with the current hardstanding and internal routes within the site. This approach reduces the current hardstanding footprint within the site, helping to enhance the natural character of the site from its current state. Charging points will also be provided to encourage and support the use of electric vehicles.
Through revitalising the site, the proposals will also ensure that the land is appropriately used, preventing anti-social behaviour, and maintaining the planting and vegetation on site.
Connectivity and transport
While reducing the overall hardstanding, our proposals will ensure that the car park located in the south of the site has sufficient space to accommodate those accessing the Gospel Hall via car. This will prevent any car parking from overspilling onto neighbouring roads.
The site is also easily accessible by a range of public transport options. The Grange Lane bus stop lies under half a mile from the site and is just a 6-minute walk or 3-minute cycle away.
Having been used previously as a caravan park, the site is well-equipped to accommodate vehicles entering and leaving the area, including via the A5192. Our proposals have been developed to reflect this prior use while being sensitive to the capacity of Grange Lane and other neighbouring roads.
