A planning application has been submitted to turn the St. Johns Hill Methodist Church in the town centre into a restaurant and bar.

http://www.shrewsbury.gov.uk/planninglist/...AppNo=06/0217/F

"Change of use of church into restaurant (Use Class A3) and bar (Use Class A4)"

Interesting development. Also the buildings where the model shop was next door will also be redeveloped (in a seperate development) - I think into apartments. Looks like the west end regeneration is starting to spread!

I attended a wedding there many years ago, it's a shame that its being converted. There's also the a church lying empty near to the the Old St. Chads in town. I think thats going to be developed for apartments.

Years ago everyone was moving out of town, not there's new developments and people are moving back in again...

I heard that the model shop had moved to Battlefield, does anyone know where?

Yeah they have a shop, though really it's a warehouse for internet orders, just off Knights Way on the Battlefield Enterprise Park.

They have changed their business and now concentrate on model railways. They are also now internet-orientated.

http://www.shrewsburymodels.co.uk/

:)

From the Shrewsbury Chronicle:

Restaurant plan at church

A Shrewsbury church is set to become an “up-market” restaurant in a scheme costing more than £1 million and creating around 40 new jobs.

An application has been submitted by VAC Limited – the company which developed the Bellstone – to transform the church into a 140-seater restaurant on two floors with a bar.

A number of the church’s interior features, including the pulpit, the main hall space and a number of pews, would be retained as features in the new restaurant.

The congregation at the church is moving to nearby St Chad’s Church next month in a unique arrangement revealed by the Chronicle earlier this month. The last service in the church will be on Mothering Sunday, March 26.

It is believed the renovation and fitting of the interior would cost £500,000 and the purchase of the building would be a “substantial six figure sum,” according to

Martin Ebelis, a director of VAC Limited. He said: “It’s a super building and the outside and interior both deserve the sort of up-market establishment we are talking about.

“The first floor would be restaurant-only and food would always be available on the ground floor.”

The move has been welcomed by the church. The Rev Caroline Homer, minister at St John’s Hill, said: “It will be a real asset to Shrewsbury.”

Borough councillor Andrew Wagner said: “If approved it would give the town a huge wow factor.”

The following printed A4 sheet was pushed through my letterbox today...
(I've not edited this in any way)

"URGENT
Methodist Mega-Pub in St John's Hill?

"The Methodist Church in St John's Hill is being sold, without any restrictions, to a developer who is applying to the council for planning permission to turn it into a very large Bar (pub/drinking establishment) and Restaurant. The capacity of this building is enormous; its balcony area and the bar on the extensive ground floor together would accommodate 100 to 200 people.

"Within the planning application, the developer is applying for two change of use permisions (1) an A3 permission (required for a restaurant to serve food and alcohol) and (2) an A4 permission to run a pub/drinking establishment. The Town and Country Planning Act definition of a Class A4 use is 'use as a public house, wine bar or other drinking establishment'.

"If the Council grants this application, it would become one of the largest pub/restaurants in Shrewsbury, setting an alarming precedent of being the only one of its size to be introduced into such an historic residential area. Also future applications of this nature in other residential areas would be difficult for the council to refuse.

"There is already an ample supply of pubs/restaurants in the area, many of which have been granted licences for extended opening hours. Extreme concern is growing locally at the sudden change of use in this historic residential street, where small trade ceases by 6.00pm. Such a venue would introduce an unprecedented volume of drinking culture, continuing into the night and bringing anti-social consequences.

"The Police have already given their response to this application. They point out the dangers of extending the entertainment base of the town centre, on this scale, into a predominantly residential area - thus increasing 'nuisance/anti-social behaviour' & causin 'increased numbers of people and vehicles and its impact on residents'.

"Please note that there is a separate application to the Licensing Officer of the Council requesting extended hours (and on certain days until 1.30am) for serving alcohol food and for providing entertainment.

"Every objection will count, however short, and is urgently needed. Ideally please register your objection in the strongest terms, particularly to the applications for A4 use to... [address of Planning Officer given]... It would also be helpful to send a copy to your local councillor."

My first response to this was to think that it is a bit NIMBY, especially as the (huge) house prices in St John's Hill are likely to be adversely affected by this. The bit about it being the only pub within the area is also a bit imaginative, given that The Exchange is just round the corner (and well within earshot) and there are two pubs on Swan Hill (admittedly rather beardy establishments) - although it is a fair point that it would be the largest pub around

On reflection, though, I wondered what precisely will be gained by opening a pub on St John's Hill. It's all very well talking about the regeneration of the west end of the town centre, but St John's Hill hardly needs regenerating! And if, as seems likely, the pub ends up catering to the same clientele as The Exchange (perhaps if it loses the competition to attract the footballers' wives types who seem to live in The Bellstone), it will extend the troublemaker zone of the town centre. It's not as if there won't be another buyer for the church building - it would probably be more useful for it to be converted into flats.

Having said that, I don't feel strongly enough about this one to send a formal objection.

I suspect the establishment will cater for a different type of people than the exchange (ie. a bit more "up market"). There's nothing to worry about.

I think it is intended to cater for drinking only allowed with eating so that it does not become a pub.

It could be as novel as a restaurant as our 'mediaeval' cinema is !!

If there was really a conspiracy to create an enormous mega-restaurant in the West End, then the old Poundstretcher (once the Theatre Royal) would have been sold long before the Methodist Church went on the market, particularly as the Theatre Royal is a better location for catching people on the pub trail...

I think it was Yates who had an application for the Theatre to become a pub turned down a few years ago.

s.g.d.

I think the Poundstretcher building lends itself to a greater variety of uses whereas redundant churches that have a lot to offer architecturely inside as well as externally are harder to find good uses for.

The owner of the bellstone also happens to be the man behind the St John's HIll proposal. From what I have heard it is planned it will become a high-end restaurant... there has been much talk of someone trying to attract a Michelin * chef to the town...

Trying to out do Ludlow I wonder? ;)

What a pity this application for a restaurant retaining much of the interior was not supported by the committee.

It would have been fantastic.

Another loss and poor decision by our planning committee.

The conversion to apartments looks interesting but involves stripping out the interior.

But of course NIMBYs don't care about that do they? They'd rather have a couple more yuppies living there than a restaurant used by people from - wait for it - outside the loop! :o

Another case of our councillors giving in to some vocal locals. The planning officers accepted the case for a restaurant.

A unitary authority would give more elbow to qualified planners and take the 'personal' touch of local councillors away, I read somewhere in the Chronicle.

I'll vote for that if we are going to be forced to waste more money by our boro' council on a referendum. We would get less personal and political decisions as a result and that would be so good for Shrewsbury and us all.

I'm all for the unitary proposals... ;)

Why not abolish all councils, MPs, elections and the rest and have decisions made by a single Fuhrer? It's what the CBI really want, after all.

We really must resist these attempts to nobble local government, which actually take power further and further away from electors and taxpayers.