6 days Ago
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Peterborough Telegraph, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Plans to renovate a community centre in Peterborough have been approved despite objections from members of the public. The building, formerly known as The Lighthouse Centre, is one of three which make up Werrington Parish Village Centre, all owned by the parish church.
It was previously used as a community and youth centre. However, the building has remained unused by the neighbourhood for a number of years due to the poor state of repair it is currently in, according to the church. Plans to renovate the building received 47 objections from the public, but many of these were in relation to the use of the site as a homeless shelter, which was not actually proposed in the application.
A statement from Werrington Parish Church read: “Sadly, it seems that some people have misrepresented what we are trying to do and have linked our plans to activities we had no intention of delivering and were not in our original brief to the architects. “It is true that we have church members who are trustees of Light Project Peterborough (LPP), which helps vulnerable people (including those who are homeless), other church members are employees and volunteers of LPP. “We also support LPP financially as a church and also support Hope into Action, another charity focusing on people who are in need of housing, both financially and through church members who are either employed by HiA or who provide volunteer support.
“However, providing accommodation and specific services for homeless people is not the aim of this project which is completely disconnected with both LPP and HiA; anyone who presents themselves as homeless to our church in Werrington is directed to those organisations.” The local highways authority also objected to the plans, citing concerns relating to the width of the access and the need for a parking management plan. However, the case officer dismissed these concerns and stated it would be “unreasonable” to refuse the application on these grounds, noting that an increase in use could already happen with or without improvement works.
The case officer also stated that it was “important to note” that the site had not been proposed to become a homeless shelter, despite what some members of the public thought. Werrington Parish Church hopes to continue to provide services for the local community from the building and consult with residents to see what services are needed the most. Plans were approved by Peterborough City Council on Friday, April 11 and the work must begin within three years.
External works will include improved access to the main entrance and garage, new windows and doors, timber-effect cladding, a new canopy at the front and solar panels on the roof. Inside, the building would have a new accessible toilet, a new kitchen with store in place of the existing games room, new one-to-one spaces, refurbished main hall and rooms, a storage room, quiet area, and new unisex toilets with a baby changing room..
