A former court in Guisborough will be demolished to make way for a custom-built gospel hall with seating for 120 people.
The Nunthorpe Gospel Hall Trust proposed the plan, and Prism Planning helped with their application. The old flat-roof building will be torn down, and the security fence will also be removed.
The new hall sits on the court’s former footprint. The back car park is getting an upgrade too, with ten more spaces being added, including one disabled spot. The new hall will seat 120 people, but it won’t be used intensely every day.
The Brethren have used this site for over ten years. The new facility simply improves the existing one, and it will suit their specific worship needs. The building will be a single story tall and includes a sloped roof.
The base will have brick, while the upper part uses timber-effect cladding. The new building will take up less space, covering less area than the old court did.
They will remove concrete at the front and add a new retaining wall. This will allow for landscaping, which will improve the street’s look.
A noise assessment was completed for the plan, stating noise shouldn’t be a problem. The Brethren have a quiet religion, and they do not use organs or music, instead singing without accompaniment.
The Brethren have worshipped there for ten years, and the council never received noise complaints. A neighbor worried about traffic, but the council engineers disagreed with this concern.
The plans do not greatly impact traffic flow. The new building’s use is the same as the old one. It’s not very big or overwhelming, so it won’t significantly affect neighbors, and car park changes won’t cause issues either.