The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church is a Christian fellowship driven by care and compassion. Members of the Church have lived and worked in the UK for nearly 200 years – including for over a hundred years in East Hampshire – and we are committed to serving our local communities, including through extensive charitable and philanthropic activities.
Further information can be found on our website: www.plymouthbrethrenchristianchurch.org.
The current Gospel Hall is in a poor state. Built to originally serve as a golf driving range, the building has since been repurposed to serve a number of uses, including as a nursery and storage. Serving as a Gospel Hall since 2022, the building is now no longer fit for purpose and does not meet the needs of the local congregation after 30 years in various use.
Left in its current state, the site will continue to decline and pose a potential safety risk to those who enter the building.
In response, the Church is seeking to establish a new, purpose-built, place of worship to serve the congregation within the local area.
The Headley Down – Grayshott Gap is a green space that separates the villages of Headley and Grayshott. The gap is protected by the East Hampshire District Council’s Policy CP23 in the Local Plan.
The existing layout of the building and car park has an imposing footprint within the Local Gap. The current building is set back some 65 metres from the road but sits across the whole frontage of the site, blocking views across the open grasslands.
The proposals will introduce a more appropriate layout by removing and remediating the land where the existing building and car park frontage lies, opening and enhancing the Local Gap, before delivering an attractive new place of worship to the rear of the site.
The new place of worship is proposed to sit to the rear north of the site, minimising the visual impact of the Gospel Hall while ensuring that it complements the existing natural surroundings.
The position of the new Gospel Hall will also better complement neighbouring development at the Applegarth. In making this conscious decision to bring the Gospel Hall more in alignment with neighbouring development, it will also improve the site’s overall rural character.
The proposals have been developed to champion the importance of the Local Gap. This includes relocating the existing built form and car park to a more suitable location on the site. In doing so, the proposals would restore the natural grasslands and significantly enhance views of the landscape between the Headley Down and Grayshott settlements.
Inspired by the site’s location within the Local Gap between Headley Down and Grayshott, the design of the Gospel Hall has also been heavily influenced by this surrounding natural landscape. This includes proposing a timber-clad finish to ensure it effortlessly combines with the site’s natural surroundings.
Overall, our proposals would ensure that the site is better used to reflect its position by the Local Gap.
The proposals would see the remediation of land where the existing and unsightly building and car park frontage lie and deliver an attractive new Gospel Hall to the rear of the site.
In doing so, the proposals would restore the natural grasslands and significantly enhance views of the landscape between the Headley Down and Grayshott settlements and positively contributing to the welcoming neighbourhood feel of Grayshott.
Alongside this, the Gospel Hall represents an important opportunity to further support and enhance the extensive charitable activities and support delivered in Grayshott and the surrounding areas of East Hampshire at a new, purpose-built, modern location which better serves the needs of the local congregation.
As a public place of worship, the local community will also be able to visit the Gospel Hall. There will also be opportunities for the Hall to support local community activities.
In line with similar Gospel Halls around the country, around three services per week are anticipated to take place. These typically fall outside of peak travel times so there is no detrimental impact on the local road network. For example, this includes evening services on weekdays, which begin after 7pm, and a regular Sunday morning service.
There will be no increase beyond the number of services which currently take place.
The Church expects to submit a planning application to East Hampshire District Council by Spring 2025. Subject to approval, the Gospel Hall is expected to take up to 12 months to deliver.
Construction of the Gospel Hall will be delivered in a manner which is responsible and respectful to the surrounding area. As part of this, a construction management plan will be agreed with East Hampshire District Council to mitigate any impact on local residents and the surrounding area.
As is currently the case, services at the Gospel Hall will take place outside of peak travel times to ensure there is no detrimental impact on the local road network.
The new car park which is located to the rear of the site will continue to make use of the same existing access route off Headley Road, continuing to reflect this existing use while still being sensitive to the capacity of Headley Road and other neighbouring roads.
The public consultation will close on 9th March 2025.
The project team will then carefully review all comments received on the proposals. The views of residents will be carefully balanced against the requirements of national and local planning policy, the views of planning officers and other statutory consultees, when finalising the planning application which will be submitted to East Hampshire District Council.
