THE Methodist Church has been given approval to demolish Gunnislake Chapel and build houses on the site. Planning inspector Edward Hitchings granted outline permission after concluding that Caradon District Council's request for a layout of the development, which was declined by the applicant, was unjustified. The appeal was made against a failure by the district council to give notice, within the prescribed period, of a decision on an application for outline planning permission. A previous appeal was dismissed for three houses because it was considered the development would appear cramped on the site, it would unacceptably harm the character and appearance of the locality and would be overlook neighbouring properties. Caradon Council opposed the demolition of the chapel which was recorded as being of county importance in the Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative (CISI) 2004. The building has not been used for services for more than three years, but as a community resource. Mr Hitchings said the previous appeal was a detailed scheme but there was nothing in that decision to indicate that the site was, in principle, unsuitable for residential development. He said layout and design were matters reserved for subsequent control and considered redevelopment could take place without harming the character and appearance of the area. 'There is no doubt that the demolition of this building would result in a substantial change to the immediate townscape and would remove a significant reminder of the historic and cultural development of this former mining village,' said Mr Hitchings. 'However, I recognise that the building has been removed from the national list of buildings of architectural and historic interest.' He also said that despite the CISI recommendation for a conservation area, no such designation including the site had been made so the demolition of the chapel did not require planning permission. Gunnislake resident Dorothy Kirk said she was very disappointed by the inspector's decision: 'Yet something else has been taken from the community — the Catholic Church has been closed and the Methodist Chapel is being demolished. 'The local people who built this village are being slapped in the face time and time again. 'This is part of the World Heritage site and approval has been given to destroy a key element of what we are trying to protect.' She said the chapel gave its name to Chapel Street and its loss would be detrimental to the area's character. Methodist minister the Rev Howard Curnow said the building did not have a purpose in this current age. The small congregation from Gunnislake now went to the chapel at Albaston. 'Just to keep it standing there as part of the landscape does not seem a very good idea,' he said. 'The upkeep of the church was more than we could afford with the size of congregation we had. 'We have not decided what the next step will be. We do have the right to demolish it but that does not mean it will happen tomorrow. If it goes on the market in its present situation and someone wants to keep it as a white elephant they can.' Mr Curnow said there were several other community buildings in Gunnislake and the pre-school, which had been meeting in the back room of the building, was in the process of relocating to the school.
