Plans for a £1,000,000 church rebuild have been brought one step closer to receiving the green light.
An application for full planning permission to pull down the existing Methodist Church in Middle Street North and rebuild a modernised version was recommended to be referred for approval to Eric Pickles, the secretary of state for communities and local government, by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
The decision was made at the meeting of the Council’s Eastern Area Planning Sub-Committee on Monday 10 June.
The Methodist Church lies in a conservation area, and a separate application for consent to build in the conservation area was also recommended by the planning sub-committee for approval by the secretary of state.
The Reverend Robert Amos, of Driffield Methodist Church, said: “We are highly delighted because we wanted to stay in that position in the centre of Driffield and to continue what we have been doing since 1772. The church building has altered over the years but to stay in that place is what we wanted. This is again a step on the way to rebuilding the church.”
However members of Driffield Town Council are in opposition to the proposal and argue the current building is an historic part of the street scene.
The Trustees of Driffield Methodist Church applied for the build in February this year. An application was originally submitted in February last year but it was withdrawn before it reached the committee stage.
Funding for the church is set to come from a grant from Methodist Connexion with additional finances from other funding bodies.
The new church will be accessible to all, energy efficient, with many facilities for worship and a cafe.
See the Driffield Times & Post for further updates on the application’s progress.