Council's £2.1m plan to turn former Kettering church into homes set for green light

A £2.1m plan to knock down an unused Methodist church and community centre and replace it with homes is set to be approved.

North Northamptonshire Council (NCC) wants to replace the former Grange Methodist Church in Stamford Road, Kettering, with the eight homes.

It wants to build four three-bedroom homes, two two-bedroom homes and two one-bedroom bungalows with parking and gardens. Last month NNC’s executive approved spending £313,000 more than the former Kettering Borough Council had approved for the project in January 2021 to cover inflation costs.

NNC said it had been subjected to “significant delay” because of a neighbour’s objection about its potential impact. The authority said that has been addressed by the design being changed. The building of the church was approved in the 1950s.

NNC’s planning officers said the plan would be acceptable in terms of its impact on neighbours, character and impact on biodiversity. NNC’s Kettering area planning committee will be asked to approve it at a meeting on Wednesday, March 8.