Project update: Former United Reform Church, Lytham

The scheme will see the United Reform Church on Bannister Street, which is a listed building, given a new lease of life.

Work includes internal alterations to create four three-bedroom dwellings and one four-bedroom dwelling inside the former church and meeting rooms.

The former Sunday School building is also being converted into a four-bedroom home as part of the project. It is being extended to two storeys.

The church building is being retained but there will be internal changes made.These include the removal of church fittings, and introducing new floor structures.

Stairs will also be put in and partitions in order to subdivide the internal spaces and make the best use of the available area.

Built in 1861 at a cost of £2,093, the church was designed by architect W.F. Poulton from Reading.

The buildings are Grade !! listed and are situated within the Lytham Town Centre Conservation Area.

Major external features include the corner tower.

A design statement which accompanied the original planning application says finding a new use for the building will help preserve it for the future.

It says “the greatest threat to these buildings is redundancy”.

The statement adds “a strategy to conserve these buildings, and the public benefits of the architectural and historic values that they offer, should involve establishing a viable new use, while conserving the most important elements in-situ.”