Church Hall extension is branded a misfit

Article from Kettering Evening Telegraph dated 20 August 1993

This is the design for a £250,000 church hall extension which is at the centre of a planning row.

Kettering Council officers said one of the reasons for turning down the plan at St Mary The Virgin Church, in Burton Latimer, was that ‘ the look of the building would be spoiled.

The Ancient Monument Society was also worried about the “banality and regularity” of external architecture.

A spokesman said: “The newcomer simply does not fit.”

Burton Latimer parochial church council proposed the construction of a hall adjoining the church.

But the council’s planning sub-committee refused permission this week for the hall, kitchen and toilets.

It feared traffic problems and the character of the church would be spoilt by the enclosure of a 13th Century doorway.

A document which went before the sub-committee meeting also said the proposed design did not show an “effective use of traditional material or ecclesiastical design”.

Fundraiser for the project and church member Brian Mutlow said: “That seems ridiculous. It was something designed to blend in with the building. What is meant by not ecclesiastical enough? Ecclesiastical architecture of the 1990s is different from 400 years ago. It’s disappointing it was rejected outright. I would have preferred if they had deferred decision and talked to us again first.”

He said he accepted there were problems with parking and he hoped a compromise could be hammered out with the council.

The authority also threw out an application to relocate tombs and gravestones.