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A Preston church has been told that it can build a three-storey extension – on stilts.
The Reconciliation Ministries (TRM) Church, on Lancaster Road North – close to Preston police station – wanted to be able to locate all of its facilities within the one building.
The church – which describes itself as “multicultural [and] non-denominational”- currently occupies a single-level property on the site, containing an open plan space for the congregation, along with toilets and a small kitchen. However, its offices are located in a three-storey structure elsewhere on the plot.
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The new building is now set to spring up alongside the existing congregation area after being granted permission by Preston City Council.
It will stand on stilts, meaning the ground floor space is left open-sided, so that vehicles can park beneath it. All 11 parking spaces will be retained as a result. The supporting steel stilts will stand 2.4 metres above ground level.
In a report outlining the reasons for their decision, town hall planners acknowledged that the new building – which will be 9.8 metres at its tallest point – would exceed the height of those surrounding it on the site.
However, they concluded that because it would be positioned between two existing premises – and so was not bounded by residential development – it would not have “any detrimental impact on the character or appearance of the surrounding street scene”.
A similar application had also been approved a decade ago, but never implemented – and the permission has since lapsed.
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