Projects - Residential

Residential Projects -

Lask Edge Chapel, Cowalmoor Lane

Sector: Residential - Conversion for Sale

Background

bpArchitecture were appointed by our client who had purchased the former chapel with planning permission to convert to a single dwelling. Our Client was a builder and repeat Cleint of ours who was developing for Sale.

Our appointment included discharge of planning conditions, reconfiguration of the internal layout to make this work better, and comply with means of escape and building regulations. The original proposal had involved a central staircase with living, dining in the former chapel, and a kitchen in the former vestry. There was no connection or real outlook to the garden, and access to the garden was either via the front entrance with a walk aroudn the side, or through a utility WC door onto the drive and a walk around the rear. However, the proposal needed to maintain access via the drive to the church graveyard and so was not safe access for young children.

Design Alterations and Appointement

Our appointment therefore involved a separate planning application for a rear single storey extension. This extension would allow a kitchen dining room to be formed to the rear, with a wall of glass facing the garden to provide family accomodation connected to the garden space.

We eventually included in the planning application proposals to raise the roof of an existing single storey outrigger by 80mm to fit a 4th bedroom it its loft space to make the construction cost more viable.

The chapel was not listed, but considered historic. When the Planning Application was submitte, the Authority advised that the building had been locally listed and refused approval for the Rear Extension. This was won on Appeal as the Inspectorate considered that the local listing had not been clearly advertised, and agreed with images produced for the planning applicaiton /appeal that the Extension and loft increase woudl not affect the overall visual appearance of the building.

The building is now locally listed as an histoirc asset.

Original Approval

The original approval sited a Kitchen dinign room in the main Chapel, with a central staircase, separating this from the Living area to the side elevation.
The Rear outrigger provided a Utility room, smalle WC and small Study. No windows faced the rear garden. Three bedrooms, family bathroom and ensuite were sited on the upper floor wiht access from a central staircase. The upper floor windows were the top half of the Chapel windows with no lightwells to the space below.

Original Plans

Ethos

Our clients brief was to put together popoasls to make the conversion works more commercially viable, and could be sold to a family. Problems were identified with the original approval:-

The rear elevation did not provide any view of or immediate access to the designated garden space. Passive surveilance of children in the garden was lacking.
Access to the garden was via front door and down the side path, or side door onto an unsecure driveway
The staircase was positioned in the middle of the main room with the kitchen adjacent, presenting a means of escape and firerisk
Very little daylight in the main room

Proposals

A 7.4m wide x 3.7m deeep single storey extension was put in to the rear with a glazed elevation overlooking the garden space. The kitchen was taken out of the main room and pushed back into this space.

A 4.4m wide opneing was former into the existing rear single storey annexe, stone was set aside for use on the extension and altertions

Within the exisitng single storey extension, trhe layout of the Utility room was adjusted and the toilet moved into the corner of the former chapel and a shower added to this.
A window seat was formed adjacent to the external window on the opposite elevation providing a seating area with a 'view' reusing Chapel bench seating. Chapel Seating was also used to provide seating in the main Chpel nave, .

In the main room, a 4.4m wide opening is formed between the Annexe, this allows daylight into the main room from the rear. The remainder of the room is set up as living and dining space. A media wall and feature fireplace has been incorporated.

To introduce more light into the main living space, two lightwells are formed on the front elevation, so that light coming through the retained stained glass windows on the front elevation can be utilised at ground and First floor, which includes further light fron a rooflight above. The staircase was moved into one of these lightwells with a glazed balustrade to retain light. A study was formed in the other lightwell, to provide good reading light. This lightwell was sized to allow a future wall climbing platform lift, to allow for elderly or disabilty use.

A third lightwell was formed full hieght ground to first floor in front of the Nave tripple stone window, to allow light from the floor above down into this space. [this has not been built as wide as originally planned. Two further small walk on glazed flopr panels were incorporated on the west elevation in the 2nd nd 3rd bedroom to allow light down into the ground floor. The Builder has not put these in

Two cloaks cupboards formed under the staircase landing and edge of lightwell, have not been installed due to cost. The kitchen island was originally set out to face the garden to allow parents to watch the garden and children whilst working in the kitchen. The builder has rotaed this around by 90 degrees and extended this into the dining area .

At First Floor

The three original proposed bedrooms are roughly in their same format with the exception of the lightwells formed to provide space. A cupboard over the stairs has not been put in. The family bathroom was moved to the centre space and a storage cupboard built in. Then an access was formed to the new 4th bedroom in the increased loft space to the rear annexe.

The rear single storey Annexe provides a large 1.25 storey height space with a central glazed wall to look out over the garden and feilds and landscape beyond.

Oarange shading on plan shows where lightwells allow light down to the ground floor space.

Approved Plans

Completion

Superstructure and landscaping was complete, Dec 2023. Internal fit out during 2024. Complete 2025.
We supported our Cleint again in 2025 to provide as built PLan and elevations for sale, and U value calculations to support a SAP calcualtion and EPC assesment. The dwelling is now sold subject to contract.

Proposed Site Plans

Photographs Before and After

Front as existing

Front complete

Side as existing

Side from the road complete Copy from here

Field Elev as existing

Field Elev complete

Rear as existing from the Road

Rear complete from same Road View

3D view export into Modeling programme for Planning Appeal

Status: Superstructure Complete 2023
Value: £250k
Type: Residential Conversion & Extension Historic
Client: Down to Earth Developments
Architect: bpArchitecture
Structural Engineer: C2C
Project Ref: 20-019

3D views from Model