Old Chapel change of use permission granted by SCDC.

The Parish Council has been granted change of use permission for The Old Chapel. This is in addition to the Listed Buildings Consent granted in August to remove the ground floor pews and lower staging. These permissions now allow the Parish Council to move forward with purchasing The Old Chapel, retain its use for the community long term and secure the future of the beloved Fowlmere Playgroup.

District Councillors were impressed with the Parish Councils application. Below are a few quotes from the SCDC planning committee meeting. The entire meeting can be viewed on SCDC’s YouTube account.

“A lot of thought has gone into this and I will be supporting this. Lets encourage them please” District Cllr Tumi Hawkins

“In a rural community it is very unusual to see services appearing rather than disappearing and for that reason I support this application” District Cllr James Rixon

“This is a unique opportunity to increase the community facilities within a group village. Sometimes we get difficult decisions before us but this is not one of them. We have the opportunity here to support a Parish Council who have consulted widely to secure and make available more community facilities in a small village. It is clearly sustainable and I have no hesitation in supporting this application.” District Cllr Peter Fane

“It is very encouraging that a community are trying seek ways of maintaining a listed community asset… So many villages are suffering from loss of amenities and closures… The fact that the community is seeking to maintain a function in a village and to continue to sustain the playgroup… and what impressed me is the degree to which the Parish Council has consulted with the community… so my feeling is that this is a very positive application and I shall be supporting it.”   District Cllr Anna Bradnam

The vote was carried by 10 to 1.