PLANS to demolish a place of worship and create a single house have been lodged with Eden District Council.

The application seeks to raze The Gospel Hall at Mellbecks, Kirkby Stephen, which has been in use since the 1870s.

The site is close to the river Eden where baptisms have been carried out, although the last baptismal service at the hall was held on Sunday (June 23.)

It follows the impending move of the Kirkby Stephen Evangelical Church to the former Congregational Chapel in Market Street.

The chapel has been used as a retail emporium and coffee shop for many years but its owners are retiring and the church has received planning permission for the hall’s reversion to a place of worship.

The church said: “These are exciting times. We have been struggling with what is now inadequate accommodation for some years. We look forward to what the Lord is going to do among us and through us as we move from a rather hidden lane to the heart of Market Street.”

The plans have been lodged by J Smart and J Taylor of IPS Architects of Outhgill near Kirkby Stephen, while the hall’s registered owner is J. McCallum.

Previously the property was two cottages and in 1876 the church first started using it as a meeting room.

A garage to its left and a house to its right, both came afterwards, said a report to Eden planners.

The application reads: “The prospective owners of the property are submitting a full planning application for the change of use to a single dwelling.”

It involves three-bedrooms being created and external and internal alterations to the floor plans and elevations of the existing building with a “small amount of demolition.”

The plans say vehicular and pedestrian accesses for the property will remain unaltered.

The applicants said the proposed changes would not “have a negative impact” on Kirkby Stephen’s conservation area.

No date has yet been set for a decision on the application which was lodged earlier this month.