A FORMER mission hall which has become derelict near Bude is one step closer to being demolished to make way for two dwellings.

The Hollabury Mission Hall has been left vacant for a number of years – and like many mission halls of its era is made from a predominantly wooden structure.

A mission hall is a building used for religious worship and community meetings, typically established by Christian denominations to propagate faith, often in specific areas or neighbourhoods.

The land on which the derelict mission hall sits, located at Hollabury Road, Bude is also the site of a number of allotments. It is understood that the majority of these would be retained in the new proposals, with only a section of the current allotments being given over to the proposed new properties to enable the dwellings to have a garden space.

However, to achieve full permission for the proposals, Mr Stevens will have to submit a secondary application, known as a ‘Technical Details’ stage.

As it was a permission in principle application, Mr Stevens has established through the granting of the application from Cornwall Council that the site is suitable for development.

The detailed plans, comprising of the site layout, the design and the access to the properties is to be agreed in the technical details consent stage – once this hurdle is passed, Mr Stevens will be able to commence development.

Ten members of the public commented on the application stating their support for the plans, with several stating that it is the intention that Mr Stevens will keep approximately two thirds of the current space used for allotments as such for the use by the community, while the proposed properties will predominantly be built on the part of the land occupied by the derelict mission hall.

Mrs Penelope Charteress said: “I fully support this application as a resident of Hollabury Road for the past 18 years. I live opposite the allotments and am very pleased to hear that the new owner intends to keep them for the local residents use.”

Others made claims that the previous owners of the land had tried to evict the allotment holders from the site in order to build more houses on the land.

The old mission hall has stood empty and unused for several years. It has not served any purpose or use to the local community. The previous owner neglected it to the point that it is now beyond repair, a risk to public safety and needs to be removed.

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Granting the permission in principle, Cornwall Council’s planning department told the applicant: “The proposal is considered to represent sustainable development in terms of location, land use and amount when tested against the three objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework 2024 (paragraph 8) and the locational principles of development that continue to carry weight under Policy 3 of the Cornwall Local Plan Strategic Policies 2010 to 2030 as well as the principles of sustainable travel embodied in Policies C1 and T1 of the Climate Emergency Development Plan Document 2023.”