Plan to demolish former town chapel for housing

Plans to demolish a former chapel and build seven homes in its place have been lodged with Monmouthshire council.

The proposals include building mews cottages to replace the disused Pentecostal chapel and community room off Monnow Street in Monmouth.

The building – known as Hebron Hall – dates back to 1864, but has fallen out of use since the church closed in around 2000, and was sold at auction in 2019.

A heritage statement says the church has been “out of use for a generation”, which it says shows there is no longer demand for its original use.

The statement says the building’s condition is “so poor” that it would require extensive rebuilding.

However it adds that the church will be remembered as part of the plans, as well as through the creation of a permanent public record.

“The impact of the loss to the heritage has to be balanced against the need to protect the conservation area through preventing the building’s further decline into dereliction and against the potential for the proposed scheme to achieve a positive impact on the area,” the statement says.

The plans include creating a new walking route linking Monnow Street and Howell’s Place, to improve pedestrian connections to the town centre.

This will include seating and planting, and plaques providing a description of the original Hebron Hall to remember the former chapel.

Each house would contain two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms under the plans.

The seven homes would also come with a garage for parking, as well as cycle parking.

Three visitor parking spaces would be provided and there would also be a turning area for vehicles.

“The intention of the proposal is to create a form of development which responds successfully to the site’s potential by building upon its positive characteristics and, in the process, helping to establish a sense of place,” a design and access statement says.

“The site is relatively compact and cannot realistically transform the entire neighbourhood, but it can achieve a number of key enhancements and potentially serve as a catalyst for subsequent wider renewal, while offering the potential of an appealing and sustainable place to live.”

An existing garage would also be removed under the plans, which will be assessed by Monmouthshire council in the coming months.