THE NEW Life Church has been given planning permission to use the former Microtest offices at 18, Normandy Way, Bodmin as a church and community centre.

The church sold its former premises in Chapel Lane to a property developer in 2020 because they were too small and had challenging access up a steep hill. Since then, it has had to rent small halls and rooms around Bodmin.

Plans for the new premises, as well as worship meetings, include a debt centre offering counselling for those in personal debt; a base for the Bodmin Youth Project and a foodbank providing those in crises with three days’ worth of emergency food. The church works with other local churches to offer these services to people living in Bodmin and surrounding North Cornwall towns and villages.

The planning application said that moving into the new premises would allow them to expand and offer more services to the community including job clubs and life skills and money courses providing employment opportunities.