Plans submitted to demolish and construct new 240-seat church submitted in Berkhamsted

Plans to demolish King’s Road Church and replace it with an expanded site have been sent to the authority.

A planning application was submitted last month, and can be viewed online here, it includes proposals for a new 240-seat auditorium.

A spokesperson for the church revealed the building would be used for services and other events within the week.

Within the planning statement submitted to the borough council it has been noted that in a previous heritage report the current church building was described as “a bland and monotonous piece of urban architecture”.

Within the statement, it is argued that the current church is too small and that the building is in “a bad state of repair”. Due to the flaws with the current site, the parish has been holding services at Bridgewater School. A church representative makes the case for the regeneration of the site due to its importance within the local community, citing popular creche service and food banks it has run in the past.

However, dozens of residents have submitted objections to the proposals with 145 being lodged in comparison to just 10 comments supporting the scheme.

The application notes that changes have been made to reflect concerns raised by the public regarding previous attempts to redevelop property. These changes include lowering the height of the building from four storeys to two and a half decks, the removal of a front column, changes to the parking system to allow hearses or wedding cars to keep off the street, and a bat enclosure.

One unconvinced objector argued that the church would still loom over nearby residential properties and stated that the parking scheme was inadequate. Another objector argued that a scheme of this size would not work in a built-up residential area and that whenever a road is closed off people who live in the neighbourhood see their cars get “scraped, dented, damaged”. They added that locals regularly witness road rage incidents.

A conservation officer representing the borough council remains against the idea given the importance of the 19th century chapel that would be knocked down. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service remained concerned with the ability of its appliances to access the site.