Plans to transform shutdown Bucks churches into housing rejected by council

Buckinghamshire Council said Reverend Adam Wells’s plans for the Methodist churches in Lee Common and Winchmore Hill were ‘unacceptable’ as they ‘would result in the loss of a community asset’.

Planning officers reached this verdict despite both churches closing their doors three years ago after their congregations dwindled to the point where they were no longer viable.

In their decision notice, planners also said the applicant, who had applied for ‘permission in principle’, had failed to submit any ecological surveys to help assess the impacts of development on any potential protected species.

The conversion of both churches into residential use was the only viable option for the buildings, according to the plans put forward by Revd Wells, the superintendent minister on the Amersham Methodist Circuit.

One of his documents reads: “The Chapel at Lee Common has been a cherished part of village life since the 19th century and has always held a special place in our hearts.”

However, by 2021 the congregation on a Sunday afternoon was down to four or five people, none of whom now live in the vicinity of Lee Common.

The church has remained disused since 2021, with the last occupant being the charity, Novi Most, an international support not-for-profit organisation.

Meanwhile, the Winchmore Hill Methodist Church has also remained closed since September 2021, when it only had six members who were all in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.