Plans to convert Grade II listed Wickhambrook United Reformed Church into homes
A Grade II listed Sunday school and chapel in Wickhambrook could be converted into residential homes, if plans are approved.
A planning application has been submitted to West Suffolk Council to renovate the former Wickhambrook United Reformed Church, on Meeting Green.
The church, built in 1734, closed in February last year due to a dwindling congregation, unaffordable running costs and it falling into disrepair. It was sold five months later.
Planning documents state the proposal is to convert the existing vacant chapel into a four-bedroom home and the Sunday school into a two-bedroom property.
They add the renovation of both the chapel and school would 'revive and safeguard' their future upkeep.
Some existing features inside, including benches, the organ and pulpit, will be removed from the building and moved to a Grade II listed church in Messing, Essex.
The documents say: "The proposed change of use would provide much needed residential accommodation for two local families and bring about the much-needed programme of sensitive repairs and maintenance to secure a sustainable future for the two buildings.
"The proposed conversion plans are of high quality and imaginative design, employing a sympathetic 'lightest touch' approach to respect the fabric of the building to ensure that the architectural merits and the significance of the building is retained.
"There would be a clear delineation between the old and the new, the design of all the interventions into the fabric have reversibility and legibility at heart."
Also in the proposals, the applicant has said each residence would be allocated two parking spaces, with electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
Documents also note Wickhambrook village has a primary academy which, when last inspected by Ofsted, was rated 'outstanding'.
The closure of the Wickhambrook church is among nine others under the United Reformed Church which have closed in East Anglia in the past 10 years.
