A DEVELOPER has said Acton Bridge residents will be ‘delighted’ with plans to convert a former Methodist chapel into a home.

Purpose-built in 1832, with a Sunday school added 11 years later, the church closed to the public in December 2018 and has been marketed without success for a similar use ever since.

The current owner now plans to convert the building into a three-bedroom home – with the demolition of a 1930s extension to provide a garden to the rear.

The building stands at the junction of Chapel Lane and Cliffe Road, with a planning application suggesting further community use could cause traffic problems.

A statement submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “The impact from the proposed use will be substantially less than when the property was used as a chapel and Sunday school, which in its heyday caused major parking issues as practises encouraged a large number of people using the building, causing major congestion and annoyance to residents.

“The property has been marketed as a chapel for the past 12 months with no purchasers until December 2019.

“The likelihood of the chapel being used for any other community alternative is likely to upset the local residents, as the chapel is located within a residential area and has minimal parking for any other community use, therefore the use a residential building will be the best sustainable approach to an alternative use, creating a place where people can live well.

“The proposal is to bring the building back into use, it will help deter the vandalism that has taken place over the last few years.

“Having spoken to local residents they are delighted that the building will be used and maintained again.”

A CWAC consultation on the plans runs until Wednesday, January 29.